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Delville, Jean - The Angel of Splendour
Identifier
002778
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
This painting by Delville was produced in 1894, and is entitled The Angel of Splendour. It is currently in a private collection. It is an allegory of ecstasy. A male figure – the Conscious – has united with the feminine Subconscious and thereby is being raised by his Higher spirit. The pose is the classic Orans pose - raised arms and upturned eyes.
The vast landscape which spreads out, far below the figures, is filled with jagged hills, they are painted in luminous purples and golds, and rise out of a bright blue ocean or sea. The stream of water - symbol of spiritual energy is shown as a blue carpet. The physical which has been left behind is thus shown below in symbolic form with cones – hills and mountains. There are also tangled thorny branches at the bottom right of the canvas.
A description of the experience
