Fra Angelico_Annunciation

Maria

Fra Angelico (1399-1455)

♦ De annunciation ♦ (Museo Diocesano, Cortona)

Of the four evangelists, only Luke describes the moment when Mary learns that she will become the mother of the Son of God. Her consent marks the beginning of God’s plan to redeem humanity from the original sin committed by Adam and Eve through Jesus’ incarnation, death, and resurrection.

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to a young woman who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The young woman’s name was Mary.
Gabriel entered her home and said, “Hail, Mary, you are highly favored; the Lord is with you.” She was greatly startled at his words and wondered what this greeting might mean. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his favor.
Listen, you will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be a great man and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
He will reign forever over the people of Jacob, and his kingdom will have no end.”

Mary asked the angel, “How will this be, since I have never had sexual relations with a man?” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy and the Son of God.” Listen, and your relative Elizabeth is also pregnant with a son, despite her advanced age. Even though she was considered barren, she is now in her sixth month of pregnancy, for nothing is impossible with God.”
Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant; may your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26–38)

As is often the case in depictions of this theme by Italian painters, the scene takes place in a loggia. The Gospel refers vaguely to “Mary’s house”; the angel Gabriel has just arrived. Inscriptions placed between the angel and Mary (who has a prayer book on her lap) convey the essence of the conversation we read about in Luke. Mary’s posture, leaning toward the angel with her hands folded across her chest, expresses humble acceptance.

God, the source of light, sends down a dove. The bird symbolizes the Holy Spirit and travels along the beam of light to Mary. At the same time as the announcement of Christ’s coming, Mary’s spiritual conception—that is, the Incarnation of Jesus—takes place. The image of God the Father himself is incorporated into the architecture like a medallion.

The coming of Christ, which is announced here, signifies for humanity the redemption from original sin, which Adam and Eve, as the first humans, committed and as a result of which they were expelled from the Garden of Eden.
Forbidden fruits lie at their feet.
Fra Angelico brings these two scenes together here in a didactic manner. The broken Old Covenant between God and humankind is replaced by a New Covenant in the person of Jesus.

Many flowers were associated with Mary and were therefore used extensively in contexts such as the Annunciation. They are often depicted in what is known as a hortus conclusus (enclosed garden), which in itself symbolizes an important quality of Mary: her purity—or, in other words, her virginity.

The five scenes on the predella (base) depict important moments in Mary’s life: her birth and marriage; the Visitation; the meeting between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist; the adoration of Jesus by the three wise men or kings from the East; Mary’s presentation at the temple; and Mary’s death. We find no mention of Mary’s birth, presentation, or death in the canonical Gospels, but they are described in apocryphal texts.

Source: de kunst van het kijken / The Art of Seeing
Patrick de Rynck

Fra Angelico_Annunciation

References