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Jennifer Henry

SAR105 02

Kochanek

November 18th, 2019

The Annunciation: Fra Angelico’s Tribute to the Virgin

Being a theology major, I wanted to research a piece that would complement my love of

scripture and tradition. I really enjoy the simplistic nature of the fresco that Fra Angelico chose

to design. It is very light in color, texture, and appearance. My initial reaction to this piece was

how simple it was. Mary’s humility is one of her best virtues, and I believe that Fran Angelico

illustrates it beautifully. Mary does not seem overwhelmed, or “caught off guard,” but rather she

seems at peace with the situation present in front of her. Reflecting on this piece, I appreciated

Angelico’s own spirituality being put into his work. As we approach the season of Advent, I

thought this would be a great piece to further research and reflect upon. I chose Fra Angelico’s

The Annunciation to further research because of its humility, simplistic nature, and scriptural

background.

The Annunciation, found in Luke’s Gospel, is one of my favorite stories from the New

Testament. You could argue the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary is the very genesis of

Christianity. Mary, a young, virgin, Jewish woman, has just been approached by an angel to be

told she will be the Mother of God (New Revised Standard Version, Lk. 1.26-38 ). To hear this

story, it sounds like an extravagant event; an angel appearing to a virgin telling her she will be

pregnant with a baby that in the end will be the sacrifice to end all of man kind’s sins. That

seems like a pretty big deal, but Fra Angelico highlights it as a beautiful, humbling masterpiece.

Mary is not anxious, overwhelmed, or worried; she is humbled, joyful and at peace (See Figure
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1). This piece highlights the very essence of what Christians are called to be; humbled, joyful,

and at peace.

As stated earlier, the Annunciation highlights a scene from Luke’s Gospel that is very

well known to Catholics, especially in the season of Advent. The Annunciation is also where we

receive the scriptural reference to the prayer, “Hail Mary.” In Fran Angelico’s fresco, we can see

the beginning of this beautiful, intimate interaction between the Angel Gabriel and the Virgin

Mary. Gabriel, shown in profile, occupies the larger part of the painting, his richly painted wings

extending out through the courtyard, almost making him the focal point of the painting. There is

“a feeling of veneration on the part of the heavenly messenger, and the submissive humility of

the Virgin,” as Mary is seen as accepting of God’s will of her Virgin birth (Fra Angelico). Mary

is seen wearing blue, as she normally is, but the blue is draping her. Blue in iconography is

always distinctive of the divine, and in the catholic faith, Mary is found as sinless (Klein, 38).

The setting of the piece is also interesting. In the bible, Mary is found in Nazareth. Angelico

decides to go against that, and place Mary in his own setting. He keeps the same isolated setting

the Virgin is found in, but rather places her in his contemporary setting. In the background Fra

Angelico painted a more Italian, Tuscany background, with the use of Roman architecture as

well. There are Corinthian columns, which in the Catholic faith are often symbols of Mary as

well (Klein, 9). The lines in the fresco are both straight and curved, but they are most definitive

in the architecture surrounding Mary and the Angel. The light in this piece mainly comes from

the lightness in colors from the figures as well as the architecture. The landscape in the

background is more shaded. The shading in the piece reflects the shadow of the figures and can

be seen at the bottom of the painting (See Figure 1). The spacing between the Angel and the

Virgin is very shallow, they are close together.

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In comparison to Fra Angelico, another depiction of the Annunciation is by Sandro

Botticelli in 1489, in which he calls the “Cestello Annunciation” (See Figure 2). In Botticelli’s

piece, Mary is seen as shocked, and hesitant to the sight of the Angel Gabriel, she is inching

away from him, but reaching towards him at the same time (Cestello Annunciation). While in

contrast, Angelico’s Virgin Mary is holding herself, submissively to the angel. Similarly, to

Angelico’s, Botticelli has the Angel kneeling before the Virgin as well. Botticelli also uses

darker colors in contrast to Angelico and includes more harsh lines. Although the two artists

include two different renditions of the same moment in Christian history, they both strive to

describe the Virgin in the most enchanting light. Although Angelico uses a more simplistic

method, Botticelli uses a more regal approach to the Annunciation. Angelico highlights more of

Mary’s perpetual virginity and humility, while Botticelli focuses on her “Queen of Heaven title.”

In a Christian context, neither artist is incorrect. I find it incredibly interesting how the two artists

take the same biblical passage and transform it into a work of art.

Fra Angelico was originally born as Guido di Pietro in Mugello, Italy. He joined the

monastery around the age of 20 and began using painting as a form of his ministry. His

knowledge of painting was probably influenced by Lorenzo Monaco's school in the Camaldolese

convent of Saint Maria degli Angeli (Fra Angelico). This knowledge would explain Angelico’s

peculiar translucence behind his tempera style of painting. By 1418, Angelico already known for

his panel-paintings. His early collection would have been of Gothic-style influence, along with

Monaco’s paintings. By the 1430s Fra Angelico had arrived at his own unique style, which was

often influenced by his spirituality.

After he joined the Dominican Order, Fra Angelico focused his work on scripture and

painting triptychs for church altars and frescoes for various churches and Monasteries. The
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frescoes at the Monastery of San Marco as seen in Figure 1, show scenes from the New

Testament. The Annunciation would have begun in 1441 and is considered to be one of his finest

works – “realistic and spiritual at the same time and with magnificent coloring” (Fra Angelico).

It is claimed he “never undertook to paint without first having prayed,” (Hausenstein, 1).

Angelico felt the call of God as he would paint his beautiful iconography of Christ, the Virgin

Mary, and the Saints. Angelico is remembered for his attention to detail in his pieces, specifically

in his interest in the angels and saints. Art commentaries claim that he paints angels so well, “he

must have been used to seeing them around" (Skira, 105). Angelico uses his art to provide a

spiritual resort to those in monastic life.

The questions raised for me after seeing Fra Angelico’s Annunciation would be why he

would have chosen a simplistic theme for this piece. I understand that in the historical context, it

may have been more appropriate to include simple colors, lines, figures, etc. But often times,

artists want to highlight the divinity or the regality of Mary, as Queen of Heaven and the Mother

of God. Does that influence his usage of Tuscany as the background to the fresco, rather than the

biblical story which has Mary in Nazareth? This may be an impossible question to answer, but

regardless it is one I have. I also would ask what the inspiration for this piece was, was it

scripture? Was it praying a Rosary? The Dominican monasteries are founded by St. Dominic,

who legend says, was the saint that Mary appeared to and told to pray the Rosary. Was it this

specific scene that had influenced Fra Angelico to dive deeper into the life of Mary? Did he have

a special devotion to Mary, given one of his other famous paintings is Coronation of the Virgin?

For the most part, Fra Angelico’s life is recorded as him being very spiritual, but I could not find

a definitive source on where his spirituality was focused from.

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Fra Angelico’s Annunciation highlights the essence of the Christian Faith; the coming of

the Messiah. He uses this fresco to illustrate the simplistic nature in which he came, from a

normal, teenage girl from Nazareth. Using light colors and the focus of two central figures, he

allows us to dive deeper into this scene. The Angel of the Lord appears to Mary, and she

conceives by the Holy Spirit. Fra Angelico uses this scene from the Gospel of Luke to depict

how Mary’s reaction would have been; humble, joyful, and at peace. She is seen in the painting

as exhibiting this, as the Angel tells her what God’s plan is for her. Angelico’s illustration of the

Annunciation may have been inspired by divine will as well and comes from his own spirituality.

The source behind Angelico’s painting is unknown, but he exhibits a beautiful example of

Christian Iconography.
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Figure 1: Fra Angelico, Annunciation, San Marco, Florence, Italy, ca. 1438–1447. Fresco, 7' 1" ×

10'
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Figure 2: Sandro Botticelli, Cestello Annunciation, Santa Maria Maddalena de'Pazzi, Florenece,
Italy, ca. 1489. Fresco.
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Works Cited

Boskovits, Miklós and David Alan Brown. Italian Paintings of the Fifteenth Century. Oxford

University Press, 2003.

“Cestello Annunciation.” Cestello Annunciation by Sandro Botticelli,

http://www.sandro-botticelli.org/cestello-annunciation/.

“Fra Angelico: The Cortona Altarpiece (The Annunciation, 1433-34): Art in Umbria and

Tuscany: Podere Santa Pia, Holiday House in the South of Tuscany.” Fra Angelico | The

Cortona Altarpiece (The Annunciation, 1433-34) | Art in Umbria and Tuscany | Podere

Santa Pia, Holiday House in the South of Tuscany,

http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/fraangelico/annunciation.htm.

Hausenstein, William. Fra Angelico. E.P. Dutton and Company Publisher

Klein, Patricia A. Worship without Words. Paraclete Press, 2006.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Fifth Edition, with the Apocrypha (New Revised Standard

Version). Oxford University Press, 2018.

Skira, Albert. Italian Painting: Creators of the Renaissance. Geneva-Paris Publishing, 1950.