FRA ANGELICO

The Annunciation represents the biblical story in which Archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she has been chosen to be the mother of Jesus. This is one of two panels that were once part of a large altarpiece, placed to the left and right above a central painting and held within an elaborate frame. Fra Angelico represented the moment just after the angel's announcement, as indicated by the gesture of the Virgin, whose bowed head shows that she has submitted to the will of God. The Annunciation was a common theme in fifteenth-century altarpieces; Italian artists analyzed and depicted every aspect of this miraculous event.