What do you think?
Rate this book
A Guide to Imagery #1
Angels and Demons in Art
This sumptuously illustrated volume analyzes artists' representations of angels and demons and heaven and hell from the Judeo-Christian tradition and describes how these artistic portrayals evolved over time. As with other books in the Guide to Imagery series, the goal of this volume is to
help contemporary art enthusiasts decode the symbolic meanings in the great masterworks of Western Art.
The first chapter traces the development of images of the Creation and the Afterworld from descriptions of them in the Scriptures through their evolution in later literary and philosophical works. The following two chapters examine artists' depictions of the two paths that humans may take, the
path of evil or the path of salvation, and the punishments or rewards found on each. A chapter on the Judgment Day and the end of the world explores portrayals of the mysterious worlds between life and death and in the afterlife. Finally, the author looks at images of angelic and demonic beings
themselves and how they came to be portrayed with the physical attributes--wings, halos, horns, and cloven hooves--with which we are now so familiar.
Thoroughly researched by and expert in the field of iconography, Angels and Demons in Art will delight readers with an interest in art or religious symbolism.
help contemporary art enthusiasts decode the symbolic meanings in the great masterworks of Western Art.
The first chapter traces the development of images of the Creation and the Afterworld from descriptions of them in the Scriptures through their evolution in later literary and philosophical works. The following two chapters examine artists' depictions of the two paths that humans may take, the
path of evil or the path of salvation, and the punishments or rewards found on each. A chapter on the Judgment Day and the end of the world explores portrayals of the mysterious worlds between life and death and in the afterlife. Finally, the author looks at images of angelic and demonic beings
themselves and how they came to be portrayed with the physical attributes--wings, halos, horns, and cloven hooves--with which we are now so familiar.
Thoroughly researched by and expert in the field of iconography, Angels and Demons in Art will delight readers with an interest in art or religious symbolism.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
9 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
Rosa Giorgi
42 books6 followersRosa Giorgi is an art historian who specializes in iconography and iconology. Her most recent publications include books on Michelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio, Diego Velázquez, and El Greco. She is also the author of Saints in Art (2002) and Angels and Demons in Art (2003). In addition to writing, she teaches at the Catholic University and the Brera Picture Gallery in Milan, where she lives.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Read
July 22, 2020Very good book, lots of info and pictures.
I mainly picked it up for inspiration for a religious fic I worked on, and it did give me ideas for 2 scenes. :)
I mainly picked it up for inspiration for a religious fic I worked on, and it did give me ideas for 2 scenes. :)
August 28, 2019
I got this book for research purposes for future Good Omens studies and essays xD, as well as my general interest in mythology and art (but mainly for Good Omens research purposes, as I don't normally consume a lot of monotheistic religious material :S xD).
+1 I found it to be a well structured and well-researched book with quite a lot of useful info written in an objective and engaging way about angels, demons and good/evil symbolism in European Judeo-Christian art. I had quite a lot of fun making comparisons between the original myths and symbolism and the characters and themes in Good Omens :D xD A few years ago I wouldn't have thought I'd have felt this fandom-hyped when reading about angel hierarchies, the angelic guardian of the Eastern Gate of Eden, the Snake of Eden, the Archangels, the Horsepeople of the Apocalypse or the Antichrist, and yet here we are xD
+1 There's no problematic religious ideology in the form of potential proselytization at any moment, the tone remaining informative and neutral all the way through. The author actually mentions the origins of different symbolism and figures from myths and religions of pre-Judeo-Christian cultures, disputing the problematic idea that Christianity didn't feed on earlier myths/religions, as well as adding some feminist criticism of women in patriarchal societies in a couple of moments, especially in the section dedicated to witches.
-1 Of course, there are countless problematic issues and topics in the themes discussed in this book and depicted in the artwork shown, which made the reading hard to digest at times :S, but like I mentioned above, the phrasing is objective and informative, and doesn't condone any of this content, so the book is not at fault, but rather the religion/myth/traditions/culture/depictions. But yeah, there's plenty of:
-Mysogyny and sexism (from Eve and the Original Sin, to the dichotomy of women depicted as either lewd/unchaste/wh*res/tempters/demons/witches or pure/chaste/veiled/saintly/martyrs/saints, to women being reduced to glorified walking vessels (the Virgin Mary being a prime example), and many examples of assault (by the Holy Spirit, to begin with :S), gender roles, modesty mindsets, and what have you. Not a good place for women, this :S :/.
-Racism (all the demons are consistently depicted and described as 'dark-skinned' for being evil, which is deplorable, while all the good guys are of course white in Western European Christian art, even all the people from the Middle East are white and blond, obviously *eyeroll* There's also a charming mention on how the very idea of depicting a black woman in a painting was a clear sign of 'heretical themes' :S).
-Also a lot of ableism/forced and limited beauty canons when it comes to considering all (good) angels as beautiful and flawless and all (evil) demons/Fallen Angels as deformed, grotesque and monstrous.
-Homophobia and LGBT-phobia in general (various depictions of homosexuals being tortured in Hell in disturbing ways, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc)
-The sheer volume of FEAR and a strong good/evil brainwashed binary inspired by the depictions of Hell, with all its horrible and graphic tortures of anyone who doesn't conform to the standards imposed by God/Heaven/religion, or the righteous avenging actions of God and his Angels, is astounding. In contrast, we then have the saccharine (and not that appealing either) depictions of Heaven, where only the 'righteous' go (and very few women unless you're the Virgin or a saint, judging by the artwork :S). Those sections of the book were the most hard to read, content-wise :S
+-1 Masculine generics everywhere. This is mostly the 'fault' of the Judeo-Christian tradition (referring to humanity as 'mankind' at all times, and to all angels - incorporeal, sexless beings - as 'he' instead of 'he/she' depending on the corporation or just a neutral 'they'). But the author also uses 'man' and 'mankind' as generics sometimes when she could have easily used 'humans/humankind'. There are a lot of 'he or she' and 'human' usages as well, though.
+1 There's a section dedicated to the discussion of how angels are usually described and portrayed regarding sex/gender, age and appearance in general that I found quite interesting and useful.
+1 Also, I really like winged beings/creatures in myth, so bonus point xD
+1 I found it to be a well structured and well-researched book with quite a lot of useful info written in an objective and engaging way about angels, demons and good/evil symbolism in European Judeo-Christian art. I had quite a lot of fun making comparisons between the original myths and symbolism and the characters and themes in Good Omens :D xD A few years ago I wouldn't have thought I'd have felt this fandom-hyped when reading about angel hierarchies, the angelic guardian of the Eastern Gate of Eden, the Snake of Eden, the Archangels, the Horsepeople of the Apocalypse or the Antichrist, and yet here we are xD
+1 There's no problematic religious ideology in the form of potential proselytization at any moment, the tone remaining informative and neutral all the way through. The author actually mentions the origins of different symbolism and figures from myths and religions of pre-Judeo-Christian cultures, disputing the problematic idea that Christianity didn't feed on earlier myths/religions, as well as adding some feminist criticism of women in patriarchal societies in a couple of moments, especially in the section dedicated to witches.
-1 Of course, there are countless problematic issues and topics in the themes discussed in this book and depicted in the artwork shown, which made the reading hard to digest at times :S, but like I mentioned above, the phrasing is objective and informative, and doesn't condone any of this content, so the book is not at fault, but rather the religion/myth/traditions/culture/depictions. But yeah, there's plenty of:
-Mysogyny and sexism (from Eve and the Original Sin, to the dichotomy of women depicted as either lewd/unchaste/wh*res/tempters/demons/witches or pure/chaste/veiled/saintly/martyrs/saints, to women being reduced to glorified walking vessels (the Virgin Mary being a prime example), and many examples of assault (by the Holy Spirit, to begin with :S), gender roles, modesty mindsets, and what have you. Not a good place for women, this :S :/.
-Racism (all the demons are consistently depicted and described as 'dark-skinned' for being evil, which is deplorable, while all the good guys are of course white in Western European Christian art, even all the people from the Middle East are white and blond, obviously *eyeroll* There's also a charming mention on how the very idea of depicting a black woman in a painting was a clear sign of 'heretical themes' :S).
-Also a lot of ableism/forced and limited beauty canons when it comes to considering all (good) angels as beautiful and flawless and all (evil) demons/Fallen Angels as deformed, grotesque and monstrous.
-Homophobia and LGBT-phobia in general (various depictions of homosexuals being tortured in Hell in disturbing ways, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc)
-The sheer volume of FEAR and a strong good/evil brainwashed binary inspired by the depictions of Hell, with all its horrible and graphic tortures of anyone who doesn't conform to the standards imposed by God/Heaven/religion, or the righteous avenging actions of God and his Angels, is astounding. In contrast, we then have the saccharine (and not that appealing either) depictions of Heaven, where only the 'righteous' go (and very few women unless you're the Virgin or a saint, judging by the artwork :S). Those sections of the book were the most hard to read, content-wise :S
+-1 Masculine generics everywhere. This is mostly the 'fault' of the Judeo-Christian tradition (referring to humanity as 'mankind' at all times, and to all angels - incorporeal, sexless beings - as 'he' instead of 'he/she' depending on the corporation or just a neutral 'they'). But the author also uses 'man' and 'mankind' as generics sometimes when she could have easily used 'humans/humankind'. There are a lot of 'he or she' and 'human' usages as well, though.
+1 There's a section dedicated to the discussion of how angels are usually described and portrayed regarding sex/gender, age and appearance in general that I found quite interesting and useful.
+1 Also, I really like winged beings/creatures in myth, so bonus point xD
December 20, 2011
Put briefly, this book is very interesting and contains amazing paintings by some of Europe's great artists. True, the pictures are sometimes very small and you almost need a magnifying glass to see the details, but the main aim with the book is another - i.e. to explain also the symbolism hidden in the paintings. If you like a particular painting, you should try to find a book with that particular artist or try to visit museum where the painting is situated (information about this is in the book; I particularly want to visit Prado to see some of the amazing Bosch paintings). You don't have to be a christian to enjoy this book - I myself am not! - but simply be interested in the christian psyche. When reading Dante, for example, this book is a great reference book to have at your side. Warmly recommended!
June 26, 2017
I took this book out of the library because of the images, but as sometimes happens, I got interested in what was written about the images, and ended up reading all the accompanying text as well.
The short descriptions surrounding the groups of pictures were very enlightening about the origins of the religious imagery and the way each religious concept evolved from the beginnings of the church, highlighting different aspects in different eras. They also talked about the debt to ancient mythologies and concepts contained in the church's teachings and stories.
Religions sometimes pretend their current ideas are identical to those of their founders. But just as cultures evolve, so do religious ideas and beliefs, borrowing, embellishing, and discarding as a result of multiple influences. Religious ideas go in and out of fashion; no aspect of religious dogma has remained untouched by history.
As to the Art...amazing, mysterious, inspiring. With exclamations points. Like Faith itself.
The short descriptions surrounding the groups of pictures were very enlightening about the origins of the religious imagery and the way each religious concept evolved from the beginnings of the church, highlighting different aspects in different eras. They also talked about the debt to ancient mythologies and concepts contained in the church's teachings and stories.
Religions sometimes pretend their current ideas are identical to those of their founders. But just as cultures evolve, so do religious ideas and beliefs, borrowing, embellishing, and discarding as a result of multiple influences. Religious ideas go in and out of fashion; no aspect of religious dogma has remained untouched by history.
As to the Art...amazing, mysterious, inspiring. With exclamations points. Like Faith itself.
June 11, 2015
Very good reproductions of art and excellent commentary. I enjoyed it immensely, and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in art history (I'll probably tell my art history professor about it, actually, I think she'd love it). Enough detail to get the point across but not so much that it's overwhelming. It would make a good reference book in the future.
November 13, 2010
Excellent handbook. I wish I had had this with me when touring the museums of Europe.
June 11, 2022
Fantastic, detailed book, just wish the format was larger so I could better appreciate the pictures.
February 23, 2021
Apparato iconografico ricchissimo e una struttura davvero interessante (Creazione e geografia dell'Aldilà - La via del male - La via della salvezza - Il giudizio e la realtà dei giorni ultimi - Le schiere infernali - L'esercito del cielo).
August 29, 2025
این کتاب یک اطلس آیکونوگرافیه، بیشتر برای راهنمای دیدن آثار هنری مفیده تا یک کتاب تحلیلی و بهصورت مدخلهای کوتاه و توضیحات تیترواره نوشته شده.
August 25, 2018
This is the only art book I have ever read cover to cover. And that's saying something, considering that I'm a bit of an art history geek but have been hard pressed to finish a book about the topic. (I'd rather experience the art first hand, rather than read about it.) In every museum, I've avoided the medieval galleries, mostly because I simply didn't understand the imagery. This book was a really good primer not just for religious art, but for Christianity in general. As someone who is not Christian, this was a useful tool for finally being able to appreciate the symbolism of the art and worked like a dictionary for a language I didn't understand.
December 10, 2014
The art is just amazing. I picked this one up at work whilst shelf reading which I don't do too often and the book just sort of like jumped out at me. Some of the scenes in the works of art in this book are absolutely amazing and contain a full description of the authors process for some, the times for others, and the meaning or possible interrpreetation behind some of the most famous and scariest works of art of all time. 3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews