Engeltje met triangel 1630 - 1652

Pieter van Avont etched this little angel with a triangle sometime in the 17th century. The cherubic figure is one of the many iterations of winged beings that have fluttered through human imagination for millennia. Consider the triangle the angel is holding, its association with harmony, proportion, and mathematical precision. The mystical philosopher Pythagoras saw in numbers the key to understanding the universe. This idea wasn't new, and it wasn't to disappear anytime soon. We see similar shapes in Renaissance art, like Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, itself a study of divine human proportions. The symbol of the triangle has, for centuries, represented the very architecture of our world. Van Avont’s angel embodies the marriage between earthly form and divine order, engaging us on a subconscious level and stirring in us feelings of wonder. The image's symbols recur in countless ways, echoing through time, constantly reborn, and ever so slightly transformed.