Cherubs
There are two representations of cherubs. Obeying the Byzantine tradition, the cherubs, as the second highest order of angelology, are seen as beings with a human face and three pairs of wings, covering it. A multitude of eyes is spread upon the wings suggesting God's ever-present light of knowledge. However, iconographically this first type of representation is frequently confused with the seraphs, the first order of angels, although they were colored in red, suggesting the flames, an allusion to the significance of their Hebrew name.
Influenced by the post XVth. century Western art, which presented the cherub as a human head over a single pair of wings, the post-Byzantine liturgical painting used a similar image. In this second type of representation, the cherub is depicted with an angelic face, with regular and androgynous features, long wavy hair loose over the shoulders and a flat disc as halo. The head is directly attached to the large spread pair of wings. It is organically linked by a strong neck and the upper part of a featherless chest.
There are two representations of cherubs. Obeying the Byzantine tradition, the cherubs, as the second highest order of angelology, are seen as beings with a human face and three pairs of wings, covering it. A multitude of eyes is spread upon the wings suggesting God's ever-present light of knowledge. However, iconographically this first type of representation is frequently confused with the seraphs, the first order of angels, although they were colored in red, suggesting the flames, an allusion to the significance of their Hebrew name.
Influenced by the post XVth. century Western art, which presented the cherub as a human head over a single pair of wings, the post-Byzantine liturgical painting used a similar image. In this second type of representation, the cherub is depicted with an angelic face, with regular and androgynous features, long wavy hair loose over the shoulders and a flat disc as halo. The head is directly attached to the large spread pair of wings. It is organically linked by a strong neck and the upper part of a featherless chest.
