The gentle hills and slopes of Brooklyn’s Evergreens Cemetery are filled with figures of angels: intermediaries between earth and heaven and messengers from God who guard the graves of the dead.
Different angel poses have different meanings. The one above appears to be dropping flower petals, which supposedly symbolizes the spreading of blessings.
Why this angel has its finger to its mouth, I’m not sure. The flowers could indicate a tribute—or that a life in bloom ended too soon.
Not all angels have wings, but perhaps this grief-stricken figure is meant to depict the deep Christian faith of the departed.
Green-Wood Cemetery at the other end of Brooklyn has plenty of haunting angel figures too.
Tags: angel figures, angel statues, Brooklyn Cemeteries, Brooklyn necropolis, cemetery symbols, Evergreens Cemetery, Green-Wood Cemetery, Sad Cemetery Angels, Victorian angels
Ephemeral New York 
June 27, 2011 at 4:06 am |
Maybe the angel by the “Lang” grave has her (his?) finger to the mouth to urge a respectful silence. Shhhh!
June 27, 2011 at 4:09 am |
It certainly could be as simple as that!
June 27, 2011 at 11:18 am |
Try this exhausted one at Green-Wood:
http://www.samueljohnson.com/blog/parchives/100412.html
June 27, 2011 at 2:04 pm |
I love it, thanks for sending. Tired and weary.
June 27, 2011 at 12:46 pm |
These are incredible. We lived in Manhattan for seven years and I’d always planned on visiting this cemetery… but never did.
Love your blog. I miss New York.
June 27, 2011 at 2:03 pm |
Thanks! Come back and visit the Evergreens. It’s incredible, with a nice view of the skyline too.
July 5, 2011 at 4:07 am |
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agencja celna…
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March 16, 2014 at 5:24 pm |
The woman dangling off the cross..have you never seen that tattoo design that shows a dark stormy sea with a stone cross on a little island in the centre of it, and a woman hanging off the cross as though she was pulling herself from the waters? It’s called “Rock of Ages”. Just google “Rock of Ages tattoo” and see for yourself.