The Annunciation

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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The Archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she will conceive the Son of God; she holds a Bible open at words from the prophet Isaiah which echo Gabriel’s: ‘Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son...’ The conception takes place at the moment she hears the words, which is why a tiny white dove, representing the Holy Ghost, flies towards her ear. Her fearful gesture is at the same time one of acceptance: her arm has drawn her cloak open to reveal her red dress beneath, highlighting her womb. The panel was the first in a series of scenes of the infancy of Christ on the front of the predella (lowest part) of the Maestà. The Maestà was a five-tiered, double-sided altarpiece, and the focus of the devotion of the Virgin in Siena.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Annunciation

Date

1311

Medium

Egg on poplar

Measurements

H 43 x W 44 cm

Accession number

NG1139

Acquisition method

Bought, 1883

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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