Artwork
Gloria
Gloria is a drawing by the Impressionist artist Thomas Dewing. It dates from 1884 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Angels were traditionally shown playing stringed instruments, whose delicate tones were thought to lift the mind to spiritual matters.
Dewing’s small, densely packed composition of four singing angels alludes to depictions of angels playing musical instruments found in 14th-century medieval manuscripts. Angels were traditionally shown playing stringed instruments, whose delicate tones were thought to lift the mind to spiritual matters. The harp, as depicted here, was the instrument most closely associated with heavenly music. With the continuous circling of halos and harps, Dewing suggested a hypnotic, celestial melody.
Artist & collection
Artist
Thomas Wilmer Dewing (May 4, 1851 – November 5, 1938) was an American painter working at the turn of the 20th century.
