The Archangel Salamiel with a Musket

Salamiel stands in the same costume-armory as his militia siblings: doublet, plumed hat, a musket held across the body. The angel-militia paintings were typically sold and displayed in sets — a wall of named archangels standing guard together — which is why so many surviving examples share a nearly identical pose and dress, varying mainly in the angel's name and the ribbon-lettered inscription beneath. The Andean synthesis here runs both directions: European Baroque angel iconography meets the reality of a colonial world where Spanish military technology was the visible face of imperial power, and Inca and Andean artists — working inside Spanish-run workshops — reframed that power as celestial rather than merely occupying. Look for the ribbon lettering that once carried the angel's name across the bottom of the canvas — the militia's own dog tags.

Maker

Cusco School (anonymous)

Date

18th century

Medium of the original

Oil on canvas

Original held by

Phoenix Art Museum, via Wikimedia Commons

Credit

Phoenix Art Museum, via Wikimedia Commons

Rights

Public domain, verified

Catalogue number

PA-00136