The moment when Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear a child named Jesus of the Holy Spirit has been depicted countless times in art history, especially in Medieval and Renaissance art. In those paintings, Mary is almost symbolically depicted as a queenly, composed giant of faith. But in this painting, she is as she is described in the Bible – young, lowly, and a little scared. She looks humbly and hesitantly at the angel before her, here represented as a great beam of light illuminating her small room. If nothing else, this painting shows so clearly the radical way in which heaven breaks through into earth in God’s great act of salvation through Christ. The contrast between this ethereal powerful spiritual force, pure light, and the earthiness of the textural stone floor and various textiles is striking; as striking as sending God himself to enter the world through the womb of a common human girl. The painting is very large, and when you see it in person you are enveloped by the mystery and the orangey glow. A small oil lamp on the right-hand side symbolizes the Holy Spirit, through which Mary conceives. The water jug perhaps symbolizes purity. The whole composition is one of wonder.
Henry Ossawa Tanner was the first African American artist to earn international renown. He painted this piece as an entry for the Paris Salon in 1898 and it was a huge success. He had always been a man of faith, and apparently, it was his father’s wish that he paint Biblical subjects. A trip to the middle east informed these paintings and infused them with realism and effective simplicity. His own faith infused them with power and conviction.
Based on Luke 1:26-38
26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. 36 Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”†
38 Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
The Annunciation is located in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.