Great Hours of Anne of Brittany

The archangel Raphael, f. 165v


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Saint Raphael, the guardian angel par excellence, is the only figure in the Great Hours of Anne of Brittany to be highlighted against a gold ground.
Prudence is one of his virtues and the index finger of his left hand draws attention to the need to take good advice, even though he holds a sword in his right hand. Like many angels portrayed in the late Middle Ages, he wears a deacon’s dalmatic that contrasts with the magnificent purple wings painted by Master Bourdichon. Saint Raphael is one of the sources for the earliest iconography of the guardian angel.

f. 165v, El arcángel san Rafael

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The archangel Raphael, f. 165v

Saint Raphael, the guardian angel par excellence, is the only figure in the Great Hours of Anne of Brittany to be highlighted against a gold ground.
Prudence is one of his virtues and the index finger of his left hand draws attention to the need to take good advice, even though he holds a sword in his right hand. Like many angels portrayed in the late Middle Ages, he wears a deacon’s dalmatic that contrasts with the magnificent purple wings painted by Master Bourdichon. Saint Raphael is one of the sources for the earliest iconography of the guardian angel.

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