Angelic Androgyny

Angels, the winged messengers of God, are artistically depicted in numerous ways from the peaceful forgiving angel to the warlike avenging angel. Yet, one concept that developed during the Renaissance is the depiction of angels as androgynous beings.

In the image above is a commonly artistic representation of the Archangel Michael defeating Satan. Unlike other paintings however, Michael's gender is somewhat ambiguous such as his soft facial features  yet masculine torso. Artistic depictions of the gender in angels have come up before such as Paradise Lost. In Paradise Lost Adam laments over the sexual indifferences he shares with the angels because they can have the sexual pleasures of both men and female. He reasons that because Angels are not human to begin with, they are without gender. It is this reasoning that angels are inhuman why artists sometimes do away with the usual masculine features of an angel to that of a sexless being.