Gabriel the Archangel
The archangel of annunciation and divine message, most famously represented announcing the Incarnation to the Virgin Mary.
Catholic Art
Winged Cherub Head
A decorative head, usually infantile, emerging from or flanked by wings; common in Renaissance and Baroque Catholic ornament but distinct from the biblical Cherubim.
Raphael the Archangel
The archangel who accompanies Tobias in the Book of Tobit, traditionally associated with healing, travel, protection, and the fish carried by Tobias.
Banderole Angel
An angel carrying a scroll or ribbon-like band bearing an inscription, prophecy, salutation, or sacred text.
Celestial Hierarchy
The ordered hierarchy of angels developed in Christian theology and traditionally divided into three hierarchies containing nine angelic orders.
Psychopomp
A guide who conducts souls to the afterlife; in Christian art angels, especially Michael in some traditions, may fulfill this guiding function.
Angels with Instruments of the Passion
Angels carrying the cross, lance, sponge, nails, crown of thorns, column, or other Arma Christi as attendants to Passion and Last Judgment imagery.
Angelic Order
A rank or choir within the traditional celestial hierarchy, distinguished by theological function and, in art, by characteristic attributes and modes of representation.
Psychostasis
The weighing of souls, an image of judgment in which Saint Michael commonly holds scales while souls or moral deeds are weighed.
Saint Michael and the Dragon
The iconic combat image of the Archangel Michael defeating Satan or the dragon, one of the most enduring angelic subjects in Christian sculpture.