Many artists for many years including the Master, Leonardo da Vinci, imagined this critical moment in the New Testament, as the Arch Angel Gabriel, (The messenger of God) announces to the young Mary (no more than a young teenager) that she is pregnant and His name is Jesus - He is the Son of God and God has chosen her to carry him, give birth and care for Him throughout His younger years.
In some interpretations, for example, the painting by the Pre-Raphaelite, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, depicts the virgin almost in fear and the angel Gabriel, overwhelming, perhaps intimidating. In da Vinci’s painting, who, by the way, only painted the wings of Gabriel as he was only an apprentice at the time, does not capture the power and grace of this critical and significant event.
In this interpretation, Waterhouse depicts the Messenger Gabriel offering flowers, subtle, sensitive and ensuring he does not frighten the young woman.
Mary is in the midst of painting, writing or weaving and, upon seeing the Angel Gabriel, puts her left hand to her heart and her right hand above her head, (Halos (rings above their heads) have been added. Did Waterhouse paint them? - surely not his style.) showing she is certainly experiencing a Visitation: still, there is that expression of shock. The angel Gabriel tells her how and what to do and to find the good man, Joseph, who on that very night, has a Big dream, and is told what he must do…
To be sure, there are two significant events that define Christianity: the above painting of the Immaculate Conception & Jesus Christ’s Rising from the dead after his terrible crucifixion. Faith in these events and the Love of God continue to resonate and can be found in words, sermons and in this case, a beautiful painting by a gifted artist.
This painting was completed in 1914, only two years before the artist’s death.
Of all the interpretations of this significant moment in the New Testament, Waterehouses’ rendition, at least for my point of view, feels to be the most real.
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