Azrael's Gallery and The Angel of Death in the History of Art Page 1

Most of you are familiar with the darker renderings of Death. They have become so played out, the imagery appears almost commercial in nature, so there is no reason to elaborate here. Instead, we are going to offer a visual presentation of The Angel of Death in some of his more compassionate renderings, as the Saviour that's often summoned to aid mankind through this mysterious state. We also want you to notice one very small detail.   None of the artists who created these portraits (save for the Persian display - see bottom) used the name Azrael, or any associated spelling, in their titles. Simeon Solomon Gallery "Death Awakening Sleep" Evelyn De' Morgan "The Angel of Death" & "The Field of the Slain"       Evelyn De' Morgan "Earthbound" Simeon Solomon "L' Angelo della Morte"

Translation from the Farsi (Old Persian) language: "Earths, that is, the Seventh Earth, and his head is in the High Firmament, which is the highest of all firmaments, and the face of Ezraeil, God’s praise be upon him, is in front of the Protected Tablet, and he has closed humanity’s mouth and his command thereto according to the number of people who die, and all the people are in front of his two eyes. He does not take any creature’s life unless his provision has been exhausted and the hour of his death has come. And it has been related from Ash’ab ibn Aslam that Hazrat Khalil-ullah, God’s praise be upon him, spoke of the Monarch of Death, and said, What are you engaged upon when you are not here. One is in the East, and the other one is in the West, or it is in a country, or warfare flares up between two armies." Ezraeil, God's praise be upon him, said: "I summon souls, that is, the souls of all animals and human beings."

Special Note: We have not altered the spelling of the Angel's name. We have published this translation exactly as we received it. The translation was made, courtesy of: Al Eslami English-Farsi Translation Services

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