Angels have always personified the ideals of love, beauty and sacrifice. They strike a deep note in many people whenever they are visualized.
Angel tattoos can be made as a remembrance for a loved one, to represent one's spirituality or to portray innocence and contentment. Renaissance and medieval art have also used the imagery of these heavenly beings in order to enhance their own beauty and perfection. Angels can be male, female or androgynous.
Icons and Medieval Angels
Medieval art work often portrays great intricacy and perfection in a two dimensional manner with a lot of attention paid to the details. Greek and Russian art also use similar techniques and follow a similar train of thought as the Medieval age, although they are from different eras. The sources to find inspiration for such types of angelic designs are illuminated manuscripts and Orthodox icons.
A grand suggestion for such types of tattoos would be the painting of St. Michael conquering the dragon. This is a popular choice among our generation with angels in armour which can be a good representative of a guardian angel.
Renaissance Angels
Renaissance means change and tattoos deriving inspiration from this age of art also reflects the change. The angels drawn from this age are androgynous with lots of flowing robes and halos over their heads. Great Masters like Raphael, Albrecht Durer, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri and Gian Lorenzo Bernini are some from whose works we can draw inspiration for our designs. These should be drawn with a fine black line or grayscale work.
Graveyard and Memorial Angels
For the purpose of remembering a loved one whom one may have lost in death, the angels found in cemeteries over the tombstones may be good option options on which to base one's tattoos on. These angels are powerful portrayals of grief and loss which perfectly suit the purpose of making such tattoos.
Many of them are designed with their heads bowed and their arms crossed. This posture can be made even more effective by adding a tribute in the form of some bold lettering. Valerie Althorpe
