The first figure of an angel as we know nowadays, is not an angel. The goddess of Victory, Nike, is one of the first representations of a winged woman.
Daughter of Pallas, the Titan that represents the Sun, and the river Styx that separates the world of the dead men of our one. Sister of Bia (Force), Zelus (Zeal) and Kratos (Power). In the sculptures, she was the only goddess who still conserved her wings. Nike is a rather simple figure that represents the speed, force and victory; thus he was related to battles, races or boxing. She never had her own stories inside the Greek mythology, but she constantly appeared on the palms of Zeus or Athena. During the war of the gods and the titans, Styx she granted Zeus to his children to serve him during the battle.
Nike served him as a charioteer. Later on, during the time of the mortals, she would be seen searching for victors and heroes in the battlefields to grant them honor and reputation with laurel wreath. Never having stories of her own, Nike was but referred to when one would say that someone had the “Gift of Nike” and it is because of her laurel wreath that nowadays we say “to rest on his laurels”.
Nowadays Nike is a common symbol in the world of sports. When in 1928 it appeared in the designs for the Olympics and later it turned into the name of one of the biggest sports companies, with the famous logo “swoosh” based on the winged goddess.
At present, we have used Nike’s figure to commemorate big victories like in Mexico to commemorate the Independence. Several contests were summoned from 1821 to choose a monument to the independence; but it was until 1843 that the president Santa Anna, together with the San Carlos Academy, summoned a contest to select a project for a monument to the Independence.
Lorenzo de la Hidalga’s design was chosen but for lack of funds and change of administrations, it was not until Porfirio Díaz was in power that he established the monument to the Independence. With Antonio Rivas like manager of the project and Enrique Alciati of the sculptures. What nowadays we know as The Angel of Independence, is really a winged victory with a laurel wreath in her right hand in position to place it on the head of the heroes of Independence and three links in her left hand symbolizing triumph and freedom.
If today we confuse angels by winged victories it is because of the vague and different explanations that various religious texts give about angels. Christianity, Judaism and Islam contain texts talking about wings of angels, yet the actual figure of an angel may be the one the mind wants to see. Angels are beings who are neither god nor man, and are not bound by the laws of physics allowing them to travel from kingdom to kingdom without the need for physical wings. Depending on the beliefs and interpretations, is the image of the angels. Different types of angels, are sometimes described as ordinary people, beings of light, magnificent beings with exotic wings or just simple messengers.
Angels are creatures of spirit, complex beings that represent ideologies and perceptions of different beliefs. Thanks to the early Christian artists, who adopted the pagan, Egyptian and Assyrian artistic traditions, today we recognize angels as beings of beautiful divinity and winged. At the beginning of the year 100 until about 500 A.D. began the period of Christian art.
At first it was persecuted and very difficult to reproduce until around 313 Christianity was declared as the official religion of the Roman Empire; It was then that the churches began to commission paintings, murals, frescoes and sculptures. Religious art dominated. Artists took pagan art as a reference, adapted figures from Greek and Roman mythology to Christian figures. It is there that the image of winged victory becomes a basis for representing the angels we know today.
Art historian Harry Seymour delicately chose the seven most iconic works of angels for AnOther.
JACOB’S DREAM – 1966 MARC CHAGALL
THE ECSTASY OF ST. THERESA – 1644-52 GIAN LORENZO BERNINI
LAMENTATION – 1305-13 GIOTTO
THE SAINT MADONNA – 1515-16 RAFAEL SANZIO
THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL – 1299 ANONYMOUS
ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI IN ECSTASY – 1595 CARAVAGGIO
CHERUBS – 1991 JEFF KOONS
