ANGELUS DOMINI $40.00 Limited Edition Lithograph 5" x 7" Actual Image Size Copyright 1999 Michael Carroll     Please note: the images shown here are scanned while the actual lithographs are printed with crisp detail and brilliant color.

Angels, for the early Christians, occupied a unique place in the hierarchy of Heaven. Created by God to serve as intermediaries between Heaven and Earth, angels had no physical bodies, yet could occasionally by seen by persons of great holiness, or by those sinners to whom God wished to send a word of warning. As messengers, angels naturally heralded news of great importance, and in the Gospels appear with Christ at key moments of his ministry.

Angels are featured quite often in the decorated pages of the Book of Kells, three on the famous Chi Rho page alone. Another page, painted in delicate shades of lavender and copper green, depicts the Four Archangels: Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, and the fearsome Michael, bearing flabella, the ceremonial fans used to keep flies away from the altar in summer.  The angel in Michael Carroll’s ANGELUS DOMINI carries a pair of matching flabella decorated with classic Kells flower-patterns, and is dressed in a flowing robe covered with white dots grouped into threes. This triple-dot pattern appears often in Celtic art, and when placed over the head of a person usually denotes holiness.

 ANGELUS DOMINI (Latin: Angel of the Lord) was designed, inked and painted entirely by hand using the methods and tools of the 8^th century Celtic monks. Reproduced at actual size, the lithographs are printed using the highest quality lightfast inks on heavyweight acid-free paper. Each print is hand- numbered and signed by the artist, and is of an edition of 1000. In order to preserve the value of each print, the printing plates have been destroyed and this artwork will never again be released in further editions.