During the Northern Renaissance in Europe, it was common for women of the commercial class to commission small religious paintings to carry from house to house. In envisioning the history of Angel with Epaulet through the eyes of hes Flemish counterpart, James says that he imagined the painting as a fragment of a greater whole, perhaps a household altar. Angel with Epaulet is one of the forty-five pieces that make up the Enoch Altarpiece.

James believes that Angel with Epaulet evokes "Some of the peace and serenity we are all looking for this holiday season. It's a wonderful gift to remind us that there is a reverence and a peaceful feeling that ought to prevail in our holiday activities, that we search for and so rarely find".--Christensen