The Joyful Mysteries – The Annunciation, Part VI: The Annunciation Witnessed

Fra Angelico, Annunciation

Italian, 1440-1442

Florence, Convent of San Marco, Cell #3

Here the visionary is a Dominican saint, probably St. Dominic

What is probably the smallest and oddest group of artistic renderings of the Annunciation are those that include the presence of onlookers or witnesses.  These onlookers fall into two categories:  the visionary and the spy. 

The most straightforward, as well as the most common, category is the visionary witness or witnesses.  

In these pictures an obviously pious person or persons, usually shown in a posture of prayer, whether kneeling or standing, and sometimes accompanied or presented by a saint, looks on at the scene of Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary.

Robert Campin and/or Workshop, Annunciation (known as the Merode Altarpiece)

Flemish, ca. 1427-1432

New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters Collection

Here the witnesses in the left wing are the donors of the painting.

Rogier van der Weyden, Annunciation

Flemish, ca. 1440

Center panel - Paris, Musée du Louvre

Side panels - Turin, Galleria Sabauda

The witness in this case is the donor of the picture, kneeling in the left side panel.

Jean Bellegambe, Annunciation

French, 1516-1517

St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum

Somewhat unusual in this picture is the fact that the donor is brought into the Annunciation scene, being presented to the Virgin Mary by Gabriel himself.

Sometimes the witness is a saint or an Old Testament prophet who predicted the event beforehand. 

Simone Martini, Annunciation With Two Saints

Italian, 1333

Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi

Master Francois and Collaborators, Annunciation

From Speculum historiale by Vincentius Bellovacensis

French (Paris), 1463

Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France

MS Francais 50, fol. 197

Here the Old Testament figures surround the throne of God the Father, holding scrolls with their prophesies about the birth of the Messiah as they watch the unfolding scene of the Annunciation.

Quite often there is a difference of scale between the two groups, with the figures of Mary and Gabriel being depicted as larger than those of the visionaries or in a raised position within the picture. 

Master of the Mazarine Hours and Collaborators, Pilgrims at Nazareth

from Book of Marvels of Marco Polo

French (Paris), ca. 1411-1412

Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France

MS Francais 2810, fol. 270

Filippo Lippi, Annunciation

Italian, ca. 1440

Rome, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica

 

Jean Colombe, Annunciation
from Vita Jesu Christi by Ludolphe de Saxe
French (Bourges), 1475-1500
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 177, fol. 12

The tone is uniformly one of great reverence.   These images appear to be visual renderings of the kind of pious meditation technique that asks one to imagine oneself at the scene of an important Biblical event. 1

Antoniazzo Romano, Annunciation

Italian, ca. 1485

Rome, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Chapel of the Confraternity of the Annunciation 

In this charming scene the recently deceased Dominican Cardinal Juan de Torquemada appears to interrupt the Annunciation scene as he presents three poor young women, wards of the Roman Confraternity of the Annunciation, to the Virgin Mary, who responds by gently bestowing dowries which would enable the girls to marry or to enter a religious order.

Master of the Ango Hours, Annunciation
from a Prayer Book
French (Rouen), 1515-1525
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition latine 83, fol. 22

Here the witness is the woman who commissioned the prayer book.

However, the tone is quite different for the small group of pictures that appear to represent the onlooker as a spy or, more probably, an overly curious or nosy person.  

Annunciation, Embroidery with silk, cotton and metallic threads

Italian, ca. 1330-1340

New York, Metropolitan Museum, Cloisters Collection

This panel is one of twelve illustrating the life of Christ that were once part of an

altar frontal (antependium).  Eight of the twelve are currently in the collection

of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2

Here the onlooker peers around a column or presses an ear to the wall, often with a furtive facial expression. 

Lippo Memmi, Annunciation

Italian, ca. 1340

San Gemignano, Collegiata Santa Maria Assunta

In spite of diligent attempts on my part to locate a source for the inclusion of such a figure I have not been able to come up with any information.  I suspect that it may owe its appearance to some kind of medieval dramatic performance, such as a mystery play, but I cannot be sure about this.  

Two of the examples I have found come from mid-fourteenth-century Italy, while the third comes from late fifteenth-century France.  Indeed I am somewhat uncertain about which category this last image belongs to.

This is a double page image of the Annunciation which once formed part of a Book of Hours that was owned by Charles of France, who was the youngest son of King Charles VII of France as well as Duke of Berry and Normandy. It was illuminated by a painter known as the Master of Charles of France. 3 

Master of Charles of France. Annunciation

Two leaves from the Hours of Charles of France

French (Bourges), 1465

New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection

Accession Number 58.71a, b

The scene of the Annunciation takes place in the portico of an elaborate building.  Through the arch behind the Virgin one can see a priest and acolyte going about the celebration of a service.  This helps to identify the setting as the Temple, where Mary was thought to have spent her teenage years in service of God.  In the colonnade that is located to the right of the figure of Mary there are some small figures looking on.  Ones first idea is that these are curious onlookers, but on second glance this may not be the case, for in the left panel we can also identify some onlookers who are, evidently, angelic companions to Gabriel.  Some of these figures are shown outside the wall of the garden compound (the Hortus conclusus?); while others follow Gabriel, playing musical instruments, while still others peer in through the garden gate just to the right of the figure of Gabriel. 4  So, it could be that, for this image at least, the small figures in the right panel are also angelic witnesses and not merely curious mortals. 

© M. Duffy, 2015

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1. Geiger, Gail L.  "Filippino Lippi's Carafa "Annunciation": Theology, Artistic Conventions, and Patronage", The Art Bulletin, Vol. 63, No. 1 (March 1981), pp. 62-75.    
2. Mayer Thurman, Christa C.  European Textiles in the Robert Lehman Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001, pp. 37-43.
3. For more information on this double page and the book from which it came, see:  Schindler, Robert.  “The Cloisters Annunciation by the Master of Charles of France” Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 47, 2012, pages 85-100.
4. For a discussion of the Annunciation in relation to the garden see my earlier essay "The Annunciation, Part III – In the Garden" at http://imaginemdei.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-joyful-mysteries-annunciation-part_14.html

The Joyful Mysteries – The Annunciation, Part II – Enter A Dove

Andrea Della Robbia, Annunciation
Italian, ca. 1493
Florence, Spedale degli Innocenti, Cloister

The next group of images I would like to present for the Annunciation is, at first glance, very similar to the Simplest form, except for one detail.  During the course of the eleventh century speculation regarding the mechanism by which the Incarnation physically occurred began to simmer in the Western church.  It is keyed off Mary’s question to the angel “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”  and Gabriel’s reply “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”   (Luke 34-35)

But just what does it mean to “come upon” or to “overshadow”?  Scholars and then artists began to propose possible means.1

Annunciation
From a Psalter
English, 13th Century
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS G 25, fol. 1

It is during this time that new images of the Annunciation appeared.  At first glance they look very much like those images that had gone before.  They show the two figures of Gabriel and Mary with little indication of surroundings.  The principle difference is that they include the Dove of the Holy Spirit in flight toward Mary or even perched near her. 

Annunciation
From the Psalter of St. Louis and Blanche of Castille
French (Paris), ca. 1225
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Arsenal 1186, fol. 16

Master Henri, Annunciation
From Livre d'image de Madame Marie
French (Hainaut), 1285-1288
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 16251, fol. 20v

Annunciation
From a Psalter
French (Liege), ca, 1250-1300
The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliothek
MS KB 76 G 17, fol. 1v

Jacobus Kokkinobaphi, Annunciation
From Orationes encomiasticae in SS. Virginem Deiparam
Byzantine, First half of the 12th Century
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Grec 1208, fol. 160v

The absence of any sign of a dove in this twelfth Century Byzantine image shows that the questions about the mode of the Incarnation that obsessed the Western Church were unimportant in the East.

Pietro Cavallini, Annunciation
Italian, 1296-1300
Rome, Santa Maria in Trastevere

This Cavallini mosaic and the contemporary image by Torriti show that, even in the highly Byzantinized world of Roman mosaic work, the Western questions applied and the dove appeared.

Jacopo Torriti, Annunciation
Italian, 1296-1300
Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore

Duccio, Annunciation
Italian, 1308-1311
London, National Gallery

Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Annunciation
Italian, 1344
Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale

In the earliest images that include the Dove it can frequently be seen close to Mary’s head, or more specifically to her ear, for it was thought that one of the means by which the Incarnation occurred was through her ear.  The idea comes from the idea that Jesus as the Word of God would be able to penetrate through the ear, the organ of hearing.  This fairly primitive, highly material idea was ultimately abandoned and the Dove of the Spirit began to hover more generally, as a more reasonable interpretation of the idea raised by the word "overshadow" from Gabriel's reply to Mary's very reasonable question.  

Richard de Montbaston, Annunciation
From Legenda Aurea by Jacobus de Voragine
French (Paris), 1348
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 241, fol. 31v

Lorenzo Ghiberti, Annunciation
Italian, 1403-1424
Florence, Cathedral Baptistry

Hugo van der Goes, Annunciation
Exterior wings of the Portinari Altarpiece
Flemish, 1476-1479
Florence, Uffizi Gallery

Veit Stoss, Annunciation
German, 1517-1518
Nuremberg, St. Lorenzkirche

As time passed the dove, which had initially been just a dove, begins to be surrounded by bright light, may even be replaced by light alone.  It is from these images that the next significant developments in Annunciation iconography spring.

Andrea del Sarto, Annunciation
Italian, ca. 1528
Florence,  Galleria Palatina, Pitti Palace

Titian, Annunciation
Italian, 1562-1564
Venice, Church of San Salvador

El Greco, Annunciation
Greco-Spanish, 1596-1600
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

Peter Paul Rubens, Annunciation
Flemish, 1609-1610
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum

Hendrick Terbruggen, Annunciation
Dutch, 1624-1625
Private Collection

Nicholas Poussin, Annunciation
French, 1657
London, National Gallery

Bartolome Murillo, Annunciation
Spanish, 1660-1665
Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Annunciation
Italian, 1724-1725
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum

Giambattista Pittoni, Annunciation
Italian, 1758
Venice, Galleria dell'Accademia

Franz Ignaz Gunther, Annunciation
German, 1759-1763
Private Collection

Continue reading about the Annunciation in the following posts:

Annunciation, Part I, Simplicity

The Annunciation, Part III – In the Garden

Annunciation, Part IV: "As If She Were A Dove That Dwelt There"

Annunciation, Part V: Telling The Whole Story

Annunciation, Part VI: The Annunciation Witnessed

The Annunciation, Part VII, In the House

Annunciation, Part VIII, In the Bedroom

© M. Duffy, 2014

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1.     1.  For a detailed description of the history of this question and the ways in which it was answered up to the fifteenth century see the twined articles:

·         Steinberg, Leo.  “How Shall This Be?” Reflections on Filippo Lippi’s “Annunciation” in London, Part I in Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 8, No. 16, 1987, pp. 25-44 and

·         Edgerton, Samuel Y. , Jr. “How Shall This Be?” Reflections on Fiippo Lippi’s “Annunciation” in London, Part II in Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 8, No. 16, 1987, pp. 45-53.

The First Joyful Mystery – The Annunciation, Part I, Simplicity

Annunciation
from Psalter of Ham of Fecamp
French, ca. 1180
The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek
MS KB 76 F 13, fol. 14v

“In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “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, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her." Luke 1:26-38

The Annunciation of the birth of Jesus to Mary by the angel, Gabriel, is the subject of the first decade of the Joyful Mysteries and of the entire Rosary.  It is also in an even more fundamental way the start of the Rosary itself for it contains within the dialogue between Gabriel and Mary the beginning of the most frequently recited prayer in the Rosary, the Hail Mary or Ave Maria.  The words,  “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you” are taken straight from Gabriel’s mouth to the opening lines of the prayer. 

Annunciation
Capital from the Abbey of St. Ruph in Avignon
French, 1140-1145
Avignon, Musée du Petit Palais

The Annunciation is the foundation of much more than just the Rosary, it is the beginning of the Incarnation of Christ, the re-foundation of the world, the undoing of the sins of Adam and Eve by the new Adam, who is Christ, and the new Eve, who is the sinless Mary.    And, for all these reasons, it is one of the most frequently depicted scenes in all of Western art history. 

Annunciation from a Crozier (Bishop's Staff)
French, First Half of the 13th Century
Paris, Musée national du Moyen Age
Thermes de Cluny

So frequently is it depicted that a search on the phrase “Annunciation iconography” yielded results in the thousands.  On Google Scholar the number of results was 8,910, while on JSTOR it was a whopping 29,000!  Nearly all the results were for studies of a single item of the many thousands of images of the subject that have been executed between the early years of Christianity and today.  Obviously, a study of all these would take years to survey, so I will endeavor to give you an overview of the iconography of the Annunciation as it appears to me from the images I have seen and studied myself, reinforced by selected reference to some of the vast literature on the subject. 

In my description of the iconography of the Annunciation I will make some distinctions based on very simple criteria.  Among them are:  the number of participants, the simplicity or complexity of the presentation, any references to God the Father, to the Holy Spirit and/or to Jesus himself, the presence of witnesses, the location of the event, etc.  Some of the elements are confined to only one category, some of them operate across multiple categories.  I will do the best I can to separate out some of the main themes that run through the depiction of the Annunciation event through the history of art from the middle ages to the Baroque period and beyond, if possible. 

Because there are so many ways in which artists have imagined the scene, even this overview will need to be broken into several essays.  Here is the first.

The Simplest Form

The simplest form of the depiction of the Annunciation involves only the two main characters, Mary and Gabriel, in the simplest of settings, usually in no specific setting at all.  These images tend to be the earliest ones as well.  

Annunciation
from Orations of Gregory Nazianzus
Byzantine, 879-882
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Grec 510, fol. 3

Among the earliest images I could find were some from Greek manuscripts.  This isn’t surprising, since Greek artists were among the earliest to produce works illustrating the Biblical texts.  

Annunciation
 from a Bible
North French, 11th Century
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Arsenal 592, fol. 18v

Annunciation
from Sacramentary of St. Gereon of Cologne
German (Cologne), 10th - 11th Century
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 817, fol. 12

In addition, these earliest images tend to come from manuscript painting.  Again this is not surprising, since an illustrated book, usually a Bible or service book, existing as it does in the usually protected environment of a monastery or cathedral library, has a better chance of survival than does a wall painting (fresco or mural) which is exposed to the elements to some degree and subject to destruction by war, earthquake or simply changing tastes in style, which resulted as frequently in its destruction as did the other two destructive forces. In addition, manuscripts often traveled, being given as gifts or in exchanges between monasteries or rulers. They were, therefore, an excellent vehicle for the dissemination of images and artistic styles.

The simplest image shows Mary standing confronted by the angel.  Sometimes there is some kind of place filler, such as a stylized plant or other object, between them.  There is minimal or no indication of location.  In a sense, the image is as symbolic as a hieroglyph.  It is meant to remind us of the event and nothing more. 

Annunciation
from a Gospel Book
German (Echternach), 1050-1075
London, British Library
MS Harley 2821, fol. 22

Annunciation
from a Sacramentary
Belgian (Liege), ca.1075
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 819, fol. 78v

This kind of image is found throughout the middle ages, in East and West. It appears in both painting and sculpture and mosaic. And it shows very little development from relatively early times through to the Baroque period. 

Annunciation
French, c.1115-30
Moissac, Church of St. Pierre

Annunciation
Panel from Pulpit in S. Piero Scheraggio in Florence
Italian, ca.1180-1200
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters

Annunciation
Enamel Mors (clasp) from a Cope (vestment)
French (Limoges), 13th Century
Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts

Annunciation
from Prüm Gospel Book
German (Prüm), First third 13th Century
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 17324, fol. 7v

Annunciation Group
French, c. 1211
Reims, Cathedral, West Facade, Central Porch

Annunciation
from a Psalter
German (Franconia), 13th Century
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS G 73, fol. 7

One charming detail of this picture is the not very successful
effort made by the artist to show some perspective in painting 

Gabriel's inside wing.  What was not a problem before now seems
to be causing some unease to the painter.

Annunciation
from les Vies des Saints by Jeanne de Montbaston
French (Paris), 1325-1350
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 185, fol. 3

That inside wing seems to have become a problem here too!

Annunciation
from a Breviary
Italian (Umbria), 14th Century
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS G 75, fol. 291

This is about the most minimal image of the scene that is possible, with only the hand of the angel visible.

Andrea Orcagna, Annunciation
Marble Tabernacle
Italian, 1359
Florence, Orsanmichele

Donatello, Annunciation
Italian, 1435
Florence, Santa Croce

With the understanding of perspective that was developed during the 15th century the inside wing ceased to be a problem for artists.

There are, of course, variations in how the figures are displayed; whether they both stand, whether they face each other directly, whether Gabriel bows, what gesture each makes, what, if anything each carries, etc.  But because of the simplicity of the image there is no room for much storytelling or for many details of location or suggestions of another dimension to the action.  There are stylistic differences, of course, but overall the image remains a simple, almost a schematic one. 

Hans Memling, Annunciation
Outer wings of a triptych
Flemish, 1467-1470
Bruges, Groeninge Museum

With a few exceptions this simple form went out of frequent use with the dawning of the Renaissance.  Images became more detailed, more circumstantial and more complex.

Annunciation (Platter)
Italian (Umbria), 17th Century
Saint Omer, Musée de l'hotel Sandelin

Alessandro Allori, Annunciation
Italian, 1603
Florence, Galleria dell'Accademia

Adriaen van de Velde, Annunciation
Dutch, 1667
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

But it can still appear, as in the recent work of Susanna Harris Hughes below.  

Susanna Harris Hughes, Annunciation
Lithograph
British, 2010-2014

Continue reading about the complex images of the Annunciation at the following:

Annunciation, Part II -- Enter a Dove

Annunciation, Part III – In the Garden

Annunciation, Part IV: "As If She Were A Dove That Dwelt There"

Annunciation, Part V: Telling The Whole Story

Annunciation, Part VI: The Annunciation Witnessed

Annunciation, Part VII, In the House

Annunciation, Part VIII, In the Bedroom

© M. Duffy, 2014

Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.