• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1979

This is a study on angels' costumes in religious paintings, especially as this relates to the questions of concepts and theological symbolism. Angels, as spiritual creatures in Christian thought, play the role of praising God's glory, as messengers of God, the role of guarding Israel and the Church, and protecting or punishing human beings. Sometimes the angels appear in incarnate form. They display no sexual differences and are not able to procreate. The angels' funtional classification being thus; nevertheless, they are pictured in various costumes and appearances according to characteristics of the paintings. The angel Michael appears as a man of dignity when pictured as a guard; the angel Gabriel in the annunciation is often portrayed as a woman of mystical beauty. Under the Renaissance, the mighty cherubim and seraphim at Yahweh's throne are degraded as plump child-angels, or winged child-heads looking alike Eros or Cupid. They have become playful and all too obviously non-heavenly chrubs, accepted features of the Temple decorations. However, cherubim are often depicted as naked or wrapped around with a piece of cloth and accompanied with wind, which symbolizes the Glory of God. The angels, costumes without seam are hung over or wrapped around the body, and when sewn they are simple and ample enough that they fall in a great many folds. However, by the 14C. angels are mostly dressed in costumes common to all Europe, and after that angels gradually appear in folk costumes; for example Italian, Flemish, etc. Dalmatic, the typical costume of Byzantine often shows up as angels' dresses even after the period. Originally the dalmatic was the Roman tunic to which Eastern influences added. The Roman clavus on the tunic had gradually lost distinction until, by the Imperial epoch, it was worn by the lowest servants. It was proudly therefore, as 'The servants of God', that the early Christians are shown wearing the clavus on their wide, ungirdled, sleeved dalmatics. In addition to their costume, angels have some other distinct charateristics. First, angels have a halo around their head; this symbolizes their holiness. Second, angels wear a narrow diadem or a queen's crown that seems to denote their glorious status close to God's throne. Third, the cloth band across the breast resembles a priest's stole, which suggests the sacred role of a priest and symbolizes the grace santified. Fourth, lilies in the annunciations are symbols of Mary's virginity. chastity, innocence and heavenly bliss. Angels hold palms or olives in their hands. The former denote prosperity. beauty and the Christians' reward after death; the latter represent peace and amity. the imperial crown made of olives means victory. Fifth, angels in paintings always have a pair of wings, which can be traced to scripture where cherubim and seraphim are described as having pairs of wings. Angels' wings often have colors of the rainbow, and the rainbow is compared to God's glory. Sixth, generally artists paint angels' costumes as white, blue, green, gold and purple. Other colors such as red rarely appear. According, to scriptures it is believed that angels should be depicted 'as white as snow'. According to the biblical expressions of angels as lightning, sun or a pillar of fire, angels should be described as creatures of light. Nevertheless being a form of art, religious paintings may differ in their presentation according to an artist's inspiration and intention. Since religious paintings illustrated above were almost all done before the Reformation, symbols of colors used in the Catholic Church will also be mentioned. The white color symbolizes chastity, purity, brightness, delight and divinity. Green represents new birth, eternal life, spiritual revival and the expectance of the grace of God. Blue, the color of sapphires, denotes chastity and truth. Red, the color of rubies, represents divinity, love and religious passion. Violet is the color of dignity, indicating the sovereign, royal or imperial power and the great Sacrifice of Christ. As mentionad above, angels' costumes were expressed in accordance with contemporary patterns or as indicated in the Bible, and accesories and colors correspond with Christian symbols. Therefore these facts should be taken into consideration when it comes to the study of costume history.