Uriel in Contemplation

John Milton’s Paradise Lost

This piece describes the angel Uriel in deep thought before being deceived by the evil one, as described in John Milton’s, Paradise lost. “To objects distant far, whereby he soon saw within ken a glorious Angel stand, The same whom John saw also in the sun: His back was turned, but not his brightness hid; Of beaming sunny rays a golden tiar Circled his head, nor less his locks behind Illustrious on his shoulders fledge with wings Lay waving round; on some great charge employed He seemed, or fixed in cogitation deep”

The Illustration

Illustrated with charcoal and graphite, the angel Uriel is positioned on a floating mosaic platform, eyes closed, in deep thought. The sunny rays or halo tiara encircling his head signify his holy, heavenly status. The great wings of the angel cover Uriel’s armoured body. With sword in hand, the angel stands on guard before being approached by deception itself. The figure was first outlined with an HB lead, followed by oil-based charcoal for the shadows cast by the high-rise sun across the face and onto the mosaic platform.

Below are progress photos that describe my approach. Starting with the head, the light is spread into a softer gradient as it strikes the skin. This was accomplished with a variety of graphite pencils, resulting in a smooth, realistic gradient.