Giuseppe Torretti
The Archangel Sealtiel
1726
Church of Santa Maria Assunta ("The Gesuiti"), Venice
This is one of four monumental statues of archangels flanking the east end of the nave. The name Sealtiel Arch[angel] on the base of the statue is from Hebrew Shealtiel, "prayer of God," so the banderole in the angel's hands gives the Latin translation, oratio dei.
Sealtiel was believed to be the angel in Revelation 8:3 who "stood before the altar, having a golden
thurible;
a censer hanging from a chain so it can be swung
and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God." In the statue, a putto hands a golden
thurible,
a censer hanging from a chain so it can be swung
up to him.
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See the other three statues in the set: Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel.
Read more about images of St. Sealtiel.
Photographed at the church by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.