Anonymous (Andean, 18th century)

Guardian angels are part of the scriptures of various spiritual traditions including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. However, earlier beliefs in these heavenly beings were part of ancient faith customs such as Zoroastrianism in which a guardian angel was assigned to each human being to guide him throughout his lifetime. Angels have been part of secular literature since the Middle Ages and Renaissance in morality plays where they were featured as forces of good against evil, such as Dante’s epic poem, The Divine Comedy. The figure here is rendered with great vigor as he looms monumentally over the landscape and guides the small child towards a safe road ahead and into the right of the composition’s space. Donning elaborately-tailored robes of silk, satin and lace, his beautiful feather wings fill with the golden light of the Almighty above him as he holds the Sacred Heart of Jesus in his hand, making for a potent devotional image.