Annunciation

   The earliest example of the Annunciation as the main subject of an altarpiece is Simone Martini's version of 1333 painted for the Cathedral of Siena and now in the Uffizi in Florence. The scene depicts the moment when the Virgin Mary is told by the archangel Gabriel that she will conceive the Christ Child who will provide humankind with salvation. As he utters the words, the Holy Spirit, denoted as rays of light emanating from a dove, enters the room and effects the conception. This is one of the most often depicted religious scenes in art. Fra Angelico painted several Annunciations during his stay at the San Marco Monastery in Florence (1438-1445) as solemn moments that invite introspection. Leonardo da Vinci brought the scene outdoors and included an ancient funerary urn as reminder of Christ's future sacrifice (late 1470s; Florence, Uffizi). Andrea del Sarto placed the scene in front of a temple, with Gabriel on the right instead of the customary left (1512; Florence, Palazzo Pitti) while Tintoretto's version (1583-1587; Venice, Scuola di San Rocco) shows Gabriel dramatically flying into the room and startling the Virgin. Lorenzo Lotto's (c. 1527; Recanati, Pinacoteca Comunale) shows the Virgin recoiling as God the Father points emphatically in her direction, as if to denote that she is the one chosen to bring his son into the world.