Guardian Angel, Nursery Christian Wall Art

What is painted

The angel has curly brown hair and a gentle, downcast face, and wears a long cream robe with a terracotta sash wrapped over one shoulder and around the waist. Kneeling low, the angel rests one hand lightly on the child's head and the other on the blanket. Two large white wings rise behind, and the nearer one arches down over the little one in a sheltering curve.

The child, a small boy with tousled brown hair, lies curled up on his side, fast asleep, his cheek on his hands, tucked under a slate blue blanket. A strip of grass runs beneath them, and the rest is soft, lightly textured cream paper. The watercolor is quiet and warm, and the picture has no text.

Angels who watch over children

The idea of a guardian angel rests on a few verses more than on long passages. In Matthew 18:10, Jesus warns against despising little ones, “for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” Psalm 91:11 promises, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” And Hebrews 1:14 calls angels “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister” for those who shall be heirs of salvation.

In the Book of Acts, when Peter knocks at the door after his release from prison, the believers inside are sure it cannot be him and say, “It is his angel” (Acts 12:15). Belief that God assigns an angel to watch over each person runs through a great deal of Christian tradition. The Catholic Church keeps a feast of the Guardian Angels on October 2, and many children still learn a short bedtime prayer to their angel before sleep.

What the painting captures is not power but tenderness: the angel is kneeling, not towering, and the child sleeps on without a care.

Above a crib or a child's bed

This is a natural fit for a nursery or a young child's room, hung just above the crib, the bed or the rocking chair. It makes a tender baptism gift, and it is also given at a christening, a baby shower or a birthday, to a child who is afraid of the dark, or to parents grieving a baby, as a quiet word of hope.

The Christian wall art print is made on thick archival matte paper, printed to order in the United States and shipped free across the country. It comes from 5x7 to 24x36, as well as metric and A sizes. The Christian poster is shipped unframed, with a clean white border, and there is a digital file option for those who prefer to print at home.