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
Heaven, or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the beliefs of some religions, heavenly beings can descend to Earth or incarnate and earthly beings can ascend to Heaven in the afterlife or, in exceptional cases, enter Heaven without dying.
Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest heavens; from Gustave Doré's illustrations to the Divine Comedy.
Ruins of the Ekur temple in Nippur, believed by the ancient Mesopotamians to be the "Dur-an-ki", the "mooring rope" of heaven and earth
The Assumption of the Virgin, 1475–1476, by Francesco Botticini (National Gallery London), shows three hierarchies and nine orders of angels, each with different characteristics.
19th century Persian miniature depicting the artist's impression of heaven
