Angel with Palm Seated on Clouds 1700 - 1750

Pedro Duque Cornejo created "Angel with Palm Seated on Clouds," a pen and brown ink drawing, sometime before his death in 1757. Cornejo was a sculptor working in Spain during the late Baroque period. The sketch depicts an angel with classical features seated on a cloud, holding a palm, a symbol of victory or eternal life. Consider the prevalent use of angels, and the emphasis on religious themes in Baroque art, often commissioned by the Catholic Church. Representations of angels, idealized and ethereal, served to inspire devotion. How does the artist negotiate traditional representations while subtly imbuing his figures with a sense of humanity? Note the angel’s gaze upwards, an expression perhaps of yearning or contemplation. Cornejo moves beyond the purely symbolic to suggest an inner life. This angel invites us to reflect on the intersection between the divine and human experiences, between the symbolic and the emotional.