The Angel (painting)

[2] He chose to use the Belgian fashion model Hannelore Knuts who he had met previously through her ex-boyfriend Nicolas Provost, a video artist.

[2] Knuts modelled for the painting while she was in Belgium to participate in Sterren op de Dansvloer [nl], the Flemish version of Dancing with the Stars, and said it felt good to stand still.

He says creating The Angel helped him in a personal way, as he suffered emotionally at the time and it made him move on, and he thinks it has universality: "Gender, racism...

[1] De Standaard's Geert Van der Speeten said The Angel stands out among Borremans' paintings because the human figure looks idealised.

[6] When it was shown in Brussels, it received considerable spread in social media; Le Soir called it "the most photogenic painting" of the exhibition.

[1][8] Lawson highlighted the androgynity of the figure, likened her to a commedia dell'arte performer and said she is "stately and beautiful" regardless of the painting's origin or meaning.

[1] The Angel was part of The People from the Future Are not to Be Trusted, a Borremans solo exhibition held from 1 September to 12 October 2013 at the gallery Zeno X in Antwerp.

[11] The Angel was the primary publicity image for the retrospective and is used as cover art for the book Michaël Borremans: As Sweet as It Gets (2014), published on the occasion of the event.