The Sopó Archangels () is a famous collection of oil paintings from the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n colonial period which is located in the Church of the Divine Savior in the Colombian municipality of

Sopó Sopó is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. The town is located 39 km north of the Colombian capital Bogotá. History The area of Sopó was inhabited first by indigenous groups during the Herrera Period ...

. This

art collection A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, repl ...

has an important historic value. The

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

s were painted around 1650, but the artist remains unknown. Some art experts believe that the paintings are from Baltasar de Figueroa, others point to the

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

ian painter Miguel de Santiago. A third theory indicates the Bogotan painter Bernabe de Posadas. The national Ministry of Culture and the Board of Colonial Art developed a restoration program for the pieces, which have various degrees of damage. Twelve canvas of 2.38 x 1.67 meters depict eleven archangels, plus the

Guardian Angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary deity, tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played ...

. Each piece contains the Hebraic name of the angel and the Spanish language description: Image:Arielsopo.jpg,

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki *, a Russian film directed by Yevgeni Kotov * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', a 1989 and 1991 ...

– Command of God: The archangel of divine war Image:Baraquel.jpg, Baraquel – Blessing of God: The archangel of virtue Image:Custodiosopo.jpg, Guardian Angel – Company of God: The angel of children Image:Esriel.jpg, Esriel – Justice of God: The archangel of divine discipline Image:Gabrielsopo.jpg,

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

– Strength of God: The archangel of divine salvation Image:Jehudielsopo.jpg, Jehudiel – Penance of God: The archangel of divine hope Image:Laruelsopo.jpg, Laruel – Mercy of God: Angel of Mercy Image:Lehadsopo.jpg, Lehad – The sun of justice. (Severely damaged.) Image:Miguelsopo.jpg,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

– Who is like God?: The divine triumph against evil Image:Rafaelsopo.jpg, Rafael – Medicine from God: The divine healing Image:Seactielsopo.jpg, Seactiel – Pray of God: Angel of divine serenity Image:Urielsopo.jpg,

Uriel Uriel , Auriel ( ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my Flame"; ''Oúriḗl''; ''Ouriēl''; ; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) or Oriel ( ''ʾÓrīʾēl'', "El/God is my Light") is the name of one of the archangels who is mentioned in Rabbinic tradition ...

– Fire of God: The divine wrath

References

*Official website: https://web.archive.org/web/20100611082947/http://www.elhablador.net/arcangeles-de-sopo.html (Spanish)
banrepcultural.org
{{commons category Paintings of archangels Colombian art Cultural history of Colombia Catholic paintings Angels in Christianity category:Paintings in Colombia Spanish Baroque

See also

References