Angel of Sleep (illustration of)

Baron Marochetti (1805-1867)

Displayed at the Great Exhibition in 1851

The Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue, p. 148.

This work is described in the Art Journal Catalogue as "an emblematic figure of the ANGEL OF SLEEP, with bat-like wings, and gesture expressive of silence." The description continues: "It is designed to be placed above the doors of a mausoleum, for which it is a suitable emblem" (148).

Despite being shown only in an illustration here, the "angel of sleep" usefully confirms Marochetti's more Romantic side — known primarily in Britain as a sculptor of great personages, he was also an artist with a feeling heart. This is the side of him seen, for example, in Charity, and in his even more touching Bimba Dormiente.

Image capture and text by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2012.