Archangels are the second-lowest rank of angel in the Christian hierarchy of angels, put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book De Coelesti Hierarchia. The word "archangel" itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other religious traditions.
The Annunciation by Paolo de Matteis
The four archangels, mosaics at St John's Church, Warminster
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel by Gustave Doré, 1885
Guido Reni's Archangel Michael Trampling Lucifer, 1636
In Abrahamic religious traditions and some sects of other belief-systems like Hinduism and Buddhism, an angel is a heavenly supernatural or spiritual being. In monotheistic belief-systems, such beings are under service of the supreme deity.
The Archangel Michael wears a Roman military cloak and cuirass in this 17th-century depiction by Guido Reni.
Schutzengel (English: "Guardian Angel") by Bernhard Plockhorst depicts a guardian angel watching over two children.
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, by Gustave Doré in 1855
The Wounded Angel, Hugo Simberg, 1903, voted Finland's "national painting" in 2006