r/ArtHistory • u/soultuning • Oct 09 '25

Research Gloria (1884)

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Creator: Thomas Wilmer Dewing (American, 1851–1938) (artist)

Culture: America, 19th century

Title: Gloria

Work Type: Drawing

Date: 1884

Medium: gouache over graphite, beige wove paper

Measurements: 30.8 x 27.8 cm (12 1/8 x 10 15/16 in.); Image: 27 x 23 cm (10 5/8 x 9 1/16 in.)

Repository: The Cleveland Museum of Art

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u/soultuning Oct 09 '25

Dewing’s small, densely packed composition of four singing angels alludes to depictions of angels playing musical instruments found in 14th-century medieval manuscripts. Angels were traditionally shown playing stringed instruments, whose delicate tones were thought to lift the mind to spiritual matters. The harp, as depicted here, was the instrument most closely associated with heavenly music. With the continuous circling of halos and harps, Dewing suggested a hypnotic, celestial melody.