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. It is the only known signed work by the city's leading artist, Duccio di Buoninsegna.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Annunciation

Date

1311

Medium

Egg tempera on wood

Measurements

H 43 x W 44 cm

Accession number

NG1139

Acquisition method

Bought, 1883

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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