The Annunciation

The Annunciation is an altarpiece painted by Fra Angelico around the mid-1430s for the Monastery of San Domenico at Fiesole, near Florence (where Fra Angelico himself was a friar). The scene is divided into three sections (the garden, the Angel's arcade, and the Virgin's arcade), and the vanishing point is located inside the house, focusing the viewer's attention on the Annunciation. On the left are Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden: they move through a flower-filled garden alluding to the Virgin Mary's virginity (hortus conclusus), populated by a multitude of plants and small flowers painted with great care (among the species associated with symbolic meanings are the palm, recalling Christ's future martyrdom, and the red roses, which evoke the blood of Christ's Passion). The presence of Adam and Eve emphasizes the cycle of humanity's damnation, redeemed through salvation in Christ, made possible by Mary's acceptance. From the upper left corner descends a ray of divine light which, passing through the dove of the Holy Spirit, illuminates the Virgin, who bows in humble acceptance of her mission: she is seated on a throne covered with a rich drapery that also serves as a carpet, and on her knees rests an open book, symbolizing the Scriptures being fulfilled. The figure of the Angel appears rather static, and the folds of his robe are rendered schematically, perhaps the work of an assistant. The episode takes place beneath a Renaissance portico, whose light arcades are skilfully foreshortened in perspective. The overall effect is one of a refined and precious rendering of every detail, achieved through the use of brilliant, cool colours, almost crystallized in the shifting harmonies of blues and pinks.