Annunciation Scene: Angels by Her Side

For this week's Annunciation scene, the image is a painting by Hans Memling (an important Flemish painter), dating to around the year 1489. You can see many elements here which are typical of the Annunciation scene. There is the angel Gabriel who has come to bring Mary the announcement (notice the elaborate detail on the angel's cloak). Gabriel has found Mary in the act of reading, and you can see a book open on the lectern beside her (presumably open to the passage in Isaiah which was interpreted as a prophecy of the virgin birth). There is a flowering lily in a vase, typically associated with Mary. Above Mary, you can see a hovering dove, the presence of God in the act of "overshadowing" Mary.

What is remarkable about this painting, however, is the presence of two more angels, one to the left and one to the right of Mary, who are supporting her in this overwhelming moment. Does Mary see the angels? It is not clear. Perhaps we are to understand that she might feel their support, but invisibly, in the same way that we might feel comforted in an overwhelming moment by some unseen presence. One of the angels is looking directly out at us, the viewers of the painting. The other angel charmingly peeks around Mary, as if to catch a glimpse of just what it was she was reading in the book.

This then raises a profound question about how people might imagine the entire annunciation scene. This painting seems to suggest that Mary might feel the presence of those two angels without seeing them. What then of the angel Gabriel? We know that Mary hears the words of the angel, since they engage in a back-and-forth dialogue. But does Mary actually see Gabriel? In this painting, Mary gazes thoughtfully, attentively, but her eyes are not directed towards the angel. Is this simply modesty? Or might we imagine that the artist shows us, privileged viewers that we are, the angel Gabriel in his glorious raiment, while Mary herself hears, but does not see, this angelic presence?

What do you suppose: did Mary see the angel Gabriel, or not?

Annunciation Scene: Ave Maria

The annunciation scene that shows up this week is from a 14th-century manuscript, and one of its most distinctive features is the banner displaying the words "Ave Maria," "Hail Mary."

The word "Ave" is the first word spoken by the angel Gabriel when he visits Mary, yet he does not actually say to her "Hail Mary." In the gospel of Luke in the Latin Vulgate version, he says: ave gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus, "Hail, full of grace! Blessed are you among women."

During the Middle Ages, a Latin prayer became increasingly popular which is based on this passage from Luke: Ave Maria, gratia plena, dominus tecum, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the lord is with you." You can read more about the Ave Maria prayer at wikipedia, along with information about the use of rosary beads in conjunction with this prayer.

Another lovely feature of this particular annunciation scene is the way that a dove has descended from heaven, and can be seen next to Mary, right by her ear. This is very creative response to the severely constrained space available to this artist. There simply is not room to show the celestial actions of God on high at the same time that the angel, on earth, is announcing the news to Mary, but the presence of the dove is able to convey that celestial dimension, hovering right beside Mary.

Just as with the words "Ave Maria," the dove is not mentioned in the Biblical text for the annunciation scene. The Gospel of John, however, does tell us that at the time of Jesus's baptism, a dove appeared: "Then John [the Baptist] gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him."

This makes for a perfect creative connection between the baptism scene and the annunciation. In the Gospel of Luke, the angel of the annunciation tells Mary that she will be visited by the Spirit: "The angel answered: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."

As you can see in this image, the artist has imagined the Spirit coming upon Mary in the form of a dove, just as in John's version of the scene of Jesus's baptism:

Annunciation Scene: Christogram

This week's Annunciation scene is an Orthodox icon. It shows many of the traditional elements of the Annunciation scene, with the angel greeting Mary, who has been spinning (see the spindle in her left hand), while a ray of light descends from God the Father in heaven.

The particular detail that I wanted to focus on in this depiction, however, is the gesture made by the angel as he greets Mary. Here is a detail that shows you the hand gesture he is making:



The thumb is touching the ring finger, leaving three fingers extended. This sign is called a "Christogram" because the fingers are actually spelling out four letters in Greek, I-C (I-S in the Roman alphabet), the first and last letters of the name "Jesus," and X-C (CH-S in the Roman alphabet), the first and last letters of the name "Christos" (Christ).

A finger extended straight shows the letter I, a finger extended but bent shows the letter C, the thumb crossed over the index finger is X, and a finger extended but bent shows the other C.

Here is an image that can help you see the pattern of the fingers more clearly:



Although the gesture is more closely associated with the Orthodox Church, you can also find the gesture depicted in Catholic art as well. The gesture is one that Orthodox priests still use today to extend a blessing. You can read more about that in this article about How to Greet an Orthodox Priest.

In addition to the I-C X-C Christogram, here is also a famous Christogram based on the first three letters of Jesus's name in Greek, I-H-C (I-E-S in the Roman alphabet).



There is also a X-P Christogram, called the "Chi-Rho" Christogram, based on the first two letters of "Christ" (CH-R in the Roman alphabet). You can read more about the Chi-Rho Christograph in this wikipedia article.



Although this is a very small detail in this depiction of the Annunciation, the details all contribute to the message which the icon conveys to its viewers. In this case, it is not the devil that is in the details - but the savior! You can find out more about this particular icon and its symbolism in this Annunciation article at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website.

Annunciation Scene: "Ustyug Annunciation"

This week's annunciation scene is a Russian icon from the Novgorod School, dating to the first half of the twelfth century. It is now held by the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. The icon is commonly known by the name the "Ustyug Annunciation."

One of the distinctive features of the Orthodox tradition of depicting the annunciation is that Mary is usually shown spinning, as opposed to the western European tradition which often depicts her as reading. In this icon, Mary is holding a drop spindle, spinning a crimson thread. Here is a close-up of Mary's hand, holding the drop spindle:



What is certainly most remarkable about this icon, however, is the way that Mary is shown already cradling an image of the infant. This is not a child in arms, but a mystical image which she seems to perceive and embrace with her right arm, as the child is spirited into her from God the Father who can be seen above, surrounded by cherubim and seraphim.



The icon is associated with a famous legend about Saint Procopius. Here is one version of the story: "It was before this Icon that St Procopius of Ustiug prayed and performed many miracles. A fool-for-Christ’s-sake, Procopius was in a long shirt during a time of terrible winter weather in Ustiug. No one wanted to give him shelter and even a group of dogs huddling together ran away when they saw him. For this, Procopius prayed and thanked God. He was then given the gift of inner warmth and was saved from freezing. Holy oil came from his hands as he prayed before this Icon."

Here is another version of the story of Procopius, in which he saved the city of Ustiug from destruction: "In the year 1290, the blessed one, in the course of a week, went about the city calling the inhabitants to repent and pray that the Lord would deliver the city from the lot of Sodom and Gomorrha. No one believed him. All of a sudden an ominous cloud appeared in the sky. It grew and grew, so that the day was turned into night. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, shaking the walls of buildings, so that human voices could not be heard. A foreboding of destruction came on. The inhabitants rushed to the cathedral church, where the blessed one was already praying before the icon of the Annunciation of the Theotokos. Before everyone's eyes, a miracle occurred: On the icon, myrrh began to flow, as a sign of the merciful­kindness of the Mother of God performed over the city. A fragrance filled the church. Myrrh from the wonderworking icon flowed to such an extent that the church vessels were filled with it. Those anointed with it received healing from various illnesses. After this, the stifling air became fresh and the sun peeped out. Twenty versts [13.25 miles] from Ustiug, at the Kotoval dale, the clouds burst forth with hail and lightening. Hail broke the age-­old forest to pieces, not bringing harm, however, either to man or beast. In memory of the city's deliverance from destruction, the celebration of the Ustiug Icon of the Mother of God was instituted."

Here, then, is the icon to which Procopius, the fool-for-Christ, prayed:

Annunciation Scene: Andrea del Sarto

Andrea painted this early work for the convent of San Gallo; it is presently in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The tiny extra scene behind Mary and the angels is usually interpreted as Susanna and the Elders - a Susanna who resembles a male nude but who in her concern for her chastity is a type for Mary;



the two Elders are pointing to her from on high.



The figures of the Madonna and the Angel Gabriel in the foreground, accompanied by two other angels, are full of gentle human beauty, vibrant with poetic intensity. Also in the scene above Gabriel's head appears a cloudlike formation which may represent God the Father whose word it is that the angel pronounces to Mary.



There is also a descending dove, symbolic of the Holy Spirit descending upon Mary along with the Father's word, as it did upon Jesus at his baptism (Matt. 3. 16).



In the angel's hand is a flowering staff, representing the staff of Joseph which blossomed as a sign that he was chosen to be the earthly husband of Mary. See the Monastery Icons website: "Searching for a righteous man with whom they could entrust the youthful Virgin Mary in marriage, the priests of the Temple called all men of the tribe of Judah to bring their staves into the Holy of Holies. The staff of the righteous old man Saint Joseph miraculously blossomed. And so he was chosen to be the spouse of the Blessed Virgin." Mary's symbolic flower the lily is on the angel's staff and around her are scattered white and red roses signs of her purity, passion, and love.

You can see a large image at Web Gallery of Art:

Annunciation Scene: Fra Angelico

You can see this beautiful Annunciation by Fra Angelico in the Convento di San Marco in Florence, absolutely one of the most extraordinary places in that extraordinary city. Instead of being in a museum, this painting is on a wall, by a staircase, where it was an object of meditation for the monks as they walked by. (Fra Angelico also painted a series of wonderful images in the individual cells of the monks, whose number included the notorious Savonarola). This particular painting dates to the year 1450.

The painting itself is sparse and uncluttered. Mary and Gabriel are in an outdoor colonnade with no decorations or objects of any kind. Mary holds no book, and the angel does not carry flowers. Yet while there are no objects that clutter the scene, there are many beautiful decorative details, such as the colors of the angel's wings and the delicate grass and flowers in the left-hand side of the painting.

Yet while the scene itself is extraordinarily simple, there are two elegant inscriptions on the painting which add to the message that the image itself conveys.

The first inscription reflects the mystical Marian devotion of Fra Angelico himself. It reads, in Latin, Salve, Mater pietatis et totius Trinitatis nobile triclinium Maria!, "Greetings, Mother of dutifulness, the noble triple-couch of the entire Trinity, Maria!" It's hard to translate the pun on Latin triclinium into English. The Latin word means a "three-fold couch," which was used as a dining couch, wrapped around three sides of a rectangular table. Hence, it was a couch with room for all three members of the Trinity to take their places.

These words are part of Adam de Saint-Victor's medieval Latin hymn in praise of Mary. Here is some more of the hymn: Salve, Mater Salvatoris! / Vas electum! Vas honoris! / Vas coelestis Gratiae! / Ab aeterno Vas provisum! / Vas insigne! Vas excisum / Manu sapientiae! / Salve, Mater pietatis, / Et totius Trinitatis / Nobile Triclinium! Verbi tamen incarnati / Speciale majestati / Praeparans hospitium!, "Greetings, Mother of the Savior! Chosen vessel! Vessel of honor! Vessel of celestial Grace! Vessel foreseen from all time! Distinguished vessel! Vessel carved by the hand of wisdom! Greetings, Mother of dutifulness, the noble triple-couch of the entire Trinity, Mary! Preparing still a guestroom for the special grandeur of the incarnate word!"

The notion that Mary is a "vessel" is a motif that will be illustrated in other annunciation scenes.

Meanwhile, in addition to the evocation of Mary the triclinium, there is another inscription below the painting. This inscription is an example of "speaking words," which directly address the passer-by who might be looking at the painting. Here is what that inscription says: Virginis intacte cum veneris ante figuram pretereundo cave ne sileatur ave, "When you come before the figure of the intact virgin, as you pass by, take care that you do not fail to say "Ave!" (Ave Maria, the "Hail, Mary!"). These are lines from a hymn to the Virgin Mary, and the next line of the hymn explains why everyone should say their "Ave!" as they walk by: Invenies veniam sic salutando Mariam, "You will find forgiveness by thus saluting Mary."

So imagine the monks of centuries gone by, as they walked by this beautiful fresco on their way to their cells, greeting the image of the virgin with their own words of "Ave!"

This is one of my favorite annunciation scenes of all time, and San Marco is one of my favorite places to visit in Florence. Do you have memories of this beautiful place in the city of Florence? Feel free to share your memories in the comments!

Widget: Annunciation Scenes

Over the past couple of days, I have created a new widget that shows a range of Annunciation scenes. I spent more time on this than I anticipated because I was not aware of the wealth of resources I would find online. In particular, I was able to find a few really excellent examples of Orthodox icons where Mary is not shown reading (a typical choice in Western art), but instead is shown spinning a scarlet thread with a drop spindle - a thread, the legend tells us, that would be used to spin the veil of the temple. Fascinating!

I worked with materials from the Web Gallery of Art and other image aources, so each item in the widget contains an image and a link to the image source (which provides a larger view of the image), along with a brief comment about some distinctive feature of that particular image.

As with the Cross and Crucifixion Scenes widget, this Annunciation Scenes widget is available in both a week-by-week and a random form. You can see the "Annunciation Scene of the Week" widget displayed here in the blog in the right-hand column.

The more I work on developing these week-by-week widgets, the more I think this could be a really useful strategy for sharing basic "religious literacy" information with teachers and students. I know I am learning a lot of good, basic information about religious tradition by assembling these materials, which is usually a good indicator the materials can be useful to others as well!

I'll be writing blog posts here week by week to explore more in depth each of the images featured for the week, hopefully with some help from friends who are interested in this topic as well! So... stay tuned for more - and please feel free to take and use this widget in your own website or blog!