The Seven Archangels (CP 001; Chromolithograph) Poster

Outside of Italy, nowhere was the cultus of the Seven Archangels more popular in Western Christendom than in Germany. Here, the Seven Archangels appear on a late 19th-century German devotional print (in everyday language: a holy- or prayer card) in vibrant color—reds, bright blues, violets, and emerald greens. (Compare M 034, the engraving by Hieronymus [Jerome] Wierx from c. 1600.) + At the top of the image are the Holy Trinity with symbols of the Evangelists (center); the Blessed Virgin Mary with SS. Peter and Paul (left); and, SS. John the Baptist, Stephen the ProtoMartyr, and Lawrence of Rome (right). The size of these figures is not indicative of their theological importance. Rather, their reduced size is a function of composition in perspective that indicates a great distance between figural groups in the picture plane and emphasizes the Archangels as the focal point of the artwork. + The Seven Archangels, their names inscribed in their haloes—albeit nearly impossible to read even when magnified, are depicted with their attributes. Reading from left to right, the Archangels are as follows: St. Raphael (“God Heals”) bears an apothecary’s jar and holds the hand of the youth Tobias who carries a fish. With a salve made from fish guts, St. Raphael healed Tobias’s father of blindness and his future wife from possession by a demon. Uriel (or Ariel; “God Is My Light”) wields a sword. He may have expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after The Fall. A flame burns at his feet. St. Gabriel (“Strength of God”) is usually portrayed with a spray of lilies. Here, however, he carries a lantern that bounces light off a mirror of jasper. The lantern symbolizes the Word of God; and, the mirror of jasper--a mineral with occlusions that nevertheless takes on a reflective sheen when polished—symbolizes our flawed understanding of God’s nature. In the center, a tall, armor-clad St. Michael (“Who Is Like God?”) carries a battle standard and palm of victory. He crushes Lucifer in the guise of a dragon underfoot. Sealtiel (“Prayer for God”), here with eyes raised, folds his hands in prayer in front of his chest. Jehudiel (“God’s Justice”) carries a crown and a scourge (the heavenly equivalent of a carrot and a stick). And, finally, Barachiel (“God’s Blessings”) holds out a fold of his mantle filled with flowers for strewing or dispensing. + Only one of the two Biblical passages that appeared in Latin at the bottom of the original engraving is present here, but it is, of course, in German. It reads: “Gnad[e] sei mit euch, und Fried von dem der da ist, und der War, und der da komen Wird, und von denem Sieben Seistern, welche vor den Angesicht seines Throns sein”, that is, “Grace be unto you and peace from him that is, and that was, and that is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne” (Apocal. 1:4; Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition [DRA]). The other inscription is an explanatory text. It reads: ““Die nomina dieser Sieben H.H. Geistern siend geoffenbahret warden dem seligen Amadaeo: wie zu sehen in Cronica S. Mariae Angelorum Romae apud Sylveiram in coment Apoc. 1:4”, that is, “The names of these Seven Sainted Spirits was revealed to the Blessed Amadeus [of Portugal]: as seen in the Chronicles of [the Church of] Santa Maria degli Angeli of Rome after [Joannis or João da ] Sylveira in his commentary on Apoc. 1:4”. + Joint Feast of SS. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael: September 29 + Image Credit (CP 001): Antique devotional print of St. Michael and Archangels (The Seven Archangels), originally published in chromolithography by Carl Poellath, Schrobenhausen, Germany, late 19th century, No. 606, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera.