Angel Artists: Rudolph Valentino Bostic (1941-2021)

September 9, 2024

Angel Artists: Rudolph Valentino Bostic (1941-2021)

We return to Georgia this week to meet the second major "Angel Artist" in the Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection--Rudolph Valentino Bostic, the self-taught painter from Savannah who created illustrations of Bible stories with house paint on recycled cardboard. Bostic was a visionary artist who depicted what he saw with the eye of his imagination rather than copying from life, and angels were an everpresent part of his inner world. We see them enfolding God as the spark of life passes to humanity at Creation, borrowed from the iconic image of Michelangelo, and tending to their business like servants in a royal palace in a depiction of Christ in Glory at the end of time. In one panel painting the hosts of heaven appear alongside us to bring "blessings multipled" in time of need. "I love angels," explained Bostic. "I believe angels are behind most of what happens on this earth, working for the forces of light. God has given each angel a specific job to do" (John Kohan)