Raphael, the archangel of the Healing Department
Archangel Raphael is an angel capable of healing everything. He guarded the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, cured people's sufferings, protected travelers on the go, and imparted various knowledge and skills. Therefore, Raphael is an angel who gives people warmth and hope.
Raphael's story has something to do with a young man named Tobias. The story is derived from the Catholic Bible of Dobria, which is not included in the Protestant Bible.
At God's direction, archangel Raphael helped the young Tobaya marry his wife, and used the smoke from the burning of the fish's heart and liver to drive out the demons attached to his fiancée, and cured his father's eye disease with fish gall.
The work of the 15th-century Italian Florentine painter Francesco Botticini (1446–1498) was stylistically similar to that of his contemporary Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510). His tempera paintings, The Three Archangels and Tobias, depict the story of Raphael and Tobias. Interestingly, this matter was originally only related to Raphael, but three archangels appeared in the picture.
On the left is the archangel Michael, in the middle is Raphael, on the right is Gabriel, and the young lad who is held by Raphael is Tobias.
Three archangels and Tobaya
In this painting of the three archangels, there are some details worth noting.
First, there is a dog in the painting, and Dobya is holding a fish in his hand, which is directly derived from a biblical story. The Bible's biography of Dobia clearly mentions that Dorbia went out with his dog, met the angel Raphael, and when washing his feet by the river, a small probability occurred, and a fish that did not know whether he was dead or alive actually took the initiative to bite his foot, which shows that dopaya's feet are likely not washed for many years, making it taste as good as bait.
Raphael taught him to catch the fish and take out the heart, liver, and gallbladder of the fish as medicinal herbs. In Christian art, the fish is often used as a symbol of Jesus Christ, so the fish in this painting may also have some metaphorical overtones.
Second, all three archangels held status-symbol objects in their hands.
Michael holds a sword and a ball that symbolizes power and might.
Raphael, because of his healing duties, may be holding a pill box in his hand.
Gabriel's symbol is the lily representing purity.
Jan Havicksz Steen (1623/1625–1679) was a famous Dutch painter of the 17th century whose works were based on ordinary life, and his dealings with religious subjects were both secular and interesting, and his pictures were extremely dramatic. The Wedding Night of Tobias and Sarah (2-13, The Wedding Night of Tobias and Sarah) depicts Raphael catching a demon attached to Tobia's wife.
Sarah's wedding night with Tobaya