Arcangel

The statue Arcangel (Archangel) by María Angélica Peric Castillo created in 2015, depicts a female body without a head, with pronounced breasts and two angel wings. The sculpture stands on a pedestal in the garden of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. The word “archangel” literally means “chief messenger,” which inspired the work’s title in Spanish. The sculpture was unveiled by Eric Verbeeck, entrepreneur and honourary consul of Chile for Antwerp and Limburg, who donated it to the city of Antwerp. 

The location of the statue is symbolic, as it stands directly opposite the former honorary consulate of Chile, housed in the well-known Art Nouveau building ’t Bootje at the corner of Schildersstraat and Plaatsnijdersstraat. 

María Angélica Peric Castillo (b. 1978) is a contemporary sculptor and artist from Argentina. She studied sculpture at the National University of the Arts in Buenos Aires and often explores spiritual and mythological themes in her practice.