This multimedia project examines visual depictions of angels’ wings in the context of the medieval concept of “supernaturalis”––the representation of the “otherworldly” through the hyper-natural world. It traces the influence that biblical descriptions of angels and the philosophy of angelic nature and bodies had on the Christian imagination, and on artists’ renderings of angels and their wings in particular. The project discusses the function of angelic “form” as a means of accessing a perceived “otherworldly” realm through embodied metaphor. Tapping Christian artwork from the early Byzantine period to contemporary times, the presentation will offer a visual exploration of the artistic use of the natural and unnatural to represent the supernatural in Christian depictions of what has come to be widely seen as the characteristic feature of angels—their wings.
Presentation deriving from special studies with Vera Shevzov, professor of religion, Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies.