The Three Great Archangels

+Master of Pratovecchio, The Three Archangels
Italian, c. 1450
Berlin, Gemäldegalerie der Staatliche Museen

September 29th was once known as Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel.  Then, in 1969 when the revised list of feast days was released, it became the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels.  This is a wise reminder that Michael is not the only archangel whose name we know from the Bible.  There are two others whose activity on God's behalf within the mortal world has been thought worthy of notice and remembrance.l


The names of the Archangels suggest the sphere of activity in which they take part.

Michael

The name Michael is, as I pointed out in my essay on his iconography (here), both a question and a challenge.  It translates as "Who is like God?"  For this reason, Michael is often shown as a warrior, as the general who leads the angelic hosts in war against the evil angels who fell into rebellion with Lucifer and became the demons who serve Lucifer/Satan in his vendetta against God through the medium of human activity.

Jean Bourdichon, Saint Michael the Archangel
From the Grandes heures d'Anne de Bretagne
French (Tours), c.1503-1508
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9474, fol. 163v

Michael is often depicted wearing armor and holding either a sword or lance, which he wields in defeating Satan, who is often depicted as a serpent or a demon.  Michael also is the just judge who weighs the good and bad deeds of each individual upon their death.

The fate of each soul rests in the balance scales in Michael's hands.  Too few good deeds will doom the soul to torment, while abundant good deeds open the door to heaven.  An ambiguous result leads to temporary punishment in Purgatory.

Gabriel

Gabriel is the most familiar of the three great Archangels.  His name means "God is my strength".  He is the consummate messenger, the great ambassador, conveying God's intentions to human beings, and bringing with the announcement the strength that assists that person to fulfill God's intention.  It is he who announces to Mary that she has been chosen to be the mother of God's Son.  He is also the one who previously announced the birth of John the Baptist to John's father, Zachariah.  He is also believed to be the same as the unidentified angel who announces the birth of Christ to the shepherds of Bethlehem and the one who comes to comfort and strengthen Jesus during His agony in the garden the night before His crucifixion.

Jean Bourdichon, Saint Gabriel the Archangel
From Grandes heures d'Anne de Bretagne
French (Tours), c. 1503-1508
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9474, fol. 167v

He is usually shown in action, especially as one half of an image of the Annunciation (as here, for instance).  If shown on his own he will usually bear some reference to that supreme moment, a lily, perhaps, or a scroll bearing the words of his greeting to Mary "Hail, full of grace!"

Raphael

Raphael is the least well-known of the three Archangels of today's feast.  His name means "God has healed" and he is associated with works of corporal mercy.  Most importantly he is remembered as the angel who, in the guise of a young man, accompanies young Tobias on his journey to collect money owed to his blind father, Tobit.  It is through Raphael's advice that Tobias successfully makes the journey, gaining a wife (whom he frees from the interference of a demon by following Raphael's advice), and curing his father of his blindness on his return (also by following the angel's advice).

Jean Bourdichon, Saint Raphael the Archangel
From the Grandes heures d'Anne de Bretagne
French (Tours), c. 1503-1508
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9474, fol. 165

His iconography usually includes the figure of Tobias and his dog and, also usually, the fish.  He may carry jars of ointment or even a full medical kit, with a pilgrim staff or a sword used to protect his charge from harm.

Group Portraits

While images of the three Archangels involved in the tasks that they have been assigned are very frequent in the history of art, images of the Archangels as portraits are rarer.  Rarer still are images in which two or more of them are shown together as a group.  I have assembled a group of these images here to celebrate the feast day of the three great Archangels:  Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.1

Fastolf Master, Three Archangels
From the Hours of William Porter
French (Rouen), c. 1420-1425
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M105, fol. 22v

Archangels Michael and Raphael
From a Book of Hours
Flemish (Ghent), c. 1420-1430
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M439, fol. 19v

+Jacobello del Fiore, Justice Between Archangels Michael and Gabriel
Itaian, 1421
Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia

+Francesco Botticini, The Three Archangels with Tobias
Italian, c. 1470
Florence, Gallerie degli Uffizi

+Domenico Ghirlandaio, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Archangels Michael and Gabriel, Saints and Angels
Italian, c. 1483
Florence, Gallerie degli Uffizi

+Marco d'Oggiono, The Three Archangels
Italian, c. 1500
Milan, Pinacoteca di Brera

There appears to have been an increase in interest in the archangels as a group, rather than as individuals, during the eighteenth century, especially in the Catholic regions of Germany, as there are a number of important depictions of the three together.

*Joseph Amonte, Angels Adoring an Image of the Virgin Mary
Italian, c. 1745-1750
Rein, Abbey Church

*Otto Gebhard, Raphael, Gabriel and Michael
German, 1751
Regensburg, Church of the Holy Cross

All three archangels are represented here.  Raphael is seen with Tobias at the upper left. Gabriel, carrying a branch of lily and holding a mirror is below them.  In the center of the composition is Michael, dressed in his armor and holding a banner with the cross in his right hand and the globe of the earth in his left.

*Thomas Christian Scheffler, The Assumption of the Virgin Mary with Saints and Angels
German, 1751
Dillingen, Church of the Assumption

This is the central group of figures painted on the dome of the church of the Assumption in Dilligen.  The crowned, enthroned figure of Mary, who wears the monogram of Jesus on her chest, is surrounded by angels and two young Jesuit saints, Aloysius Gonzaga and Stanislaus Kostka.  Michael, in gold and holding the scales of judgment, is on the left and Gabriel, in blue, holding lilies, is on the right.

*Felix Anton Scheffler, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
German, 1757
Baumberg, Church of Saint Margaretha

*Johann Jakob Zeiller and Franz Anton Zeiller, Creation and the Heavenly Dominion
German, c. 1757-1760
Ottobeuren, Church of Saints Theodore and Alexander

At the top of this cropped image is the Holy Trinity in the act of creation.  At the lower edge, starting at the center and to the right are the three named archangels.   Michael has pride of place at the center as he and his lieutenants battle the fallen angels, to his right is the image of Raphael with Tobias and above them is Gabriel, wearing a blue mantle, who holds the branch of lilies.

*Josef Adam Mölk, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
Austrian, 1766
Rein, Abbey Church

Michael, in a red cloak and armor, holds a thurible for incense, while an assisting cherub holds his sword and scales.  At the center, Gabriel, wearing a teal mantle and with blue wings, also holds a smoking vessel of incense.  At the right, Raphael, wears a golden tunic under a fawn colored cloak which sports a pilgrims cockle shell.  Just below him, a small figure with a teal mantle and a halo, holds a pilgrim staff.  Since this little figure does not have wings, it does not appear to represent a cherub.  However, the halo suggests that it is a holy figure.  The most probable identification is with Tobias, the youth guided through his biblical quest by Raphael.

 © M. Duffy, 2017.  Updated images and additional material added 2024.

+ Indicates updated image.

* Indicates new material.

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1. Pope, Hugh. "Angels." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 29 Sept. 2017.