About the Artwork

"Angel with Epaulet" is part of Christensen's "Saints and Angels" series that also includes "Saint with White Sleeves" and "Madonna with Two Angels." The "Saints and Angels" collection is attributed to James' alter-ego, the obscure Flemish painter known only as The Master of the Enoch Altarpiece.

During the Northern Renaissance in Europe, it was common for women of the commercial class to commission small religious paintings to carry from house to house. In envisioning the history of "Ave" through the eyes of his Flemish counterpart, James imagined the painting as a fragment of a greater whole, perhaps a household altar.

James believes that "Ave" evokes "Some of the peace and serenity we are all looking for this holiday season. It's a wonderful gift to remind us that there is a reverence and a peaceful feeling that ought to prevail in our holiday activities that we search for and so rarely find."