The Angel of Death Victorious
In the Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio there is one of the most interesting cemetery monuments I’ve encountered. I had seen the Haserot family monument posted on several internet photo forums, and I decided that it would be the perfect way to end my tour of cemeteries for my SoFoBoMo project.
When we arrived at the cemetery we started shooting monuments and gravesites. There was a light rain, so we chose to drive around, and stop and shoot when we seen an interesting site. This is not an optimal way to do this sort of thing. The best way is to walk the cemetery, but in addition to the rain, Lake View is very spread out making walking it very difficult. We actually drove around a lot, and we couldn’t find Haserot’s Angel. Admitting defeat we went to the cemetery office, and they were happy to direct us to the Haserot plot.
Cemetery monuments are an interesting form of art. They are unique unto themselves. Some appear to be one-offs originals, and after you’ve been in enough cemeteries, you see some repetition. One thing I can assure you is that there is nothing quite like Haserot’s Angel.
“The Angel of Death Victorious” is the other name this statue is known as. The angel of death sits contently on his throne with his wings spread out. The look on his face is one of satisfaction. The years have streaked the bronze of his face giving him the look of a warrior, or is he weeping?
His hands are at rest on what at first looks like a staff, but in fact it is a torch. The torch is turned upside down. The symbolism is unmistakable. The angel has extinguished a life.
This angel is a work of art in its own right, and was the perfect end to my shooting for my project.
