Annunciation

The Annunciation corresponds to the moment when the Archangel Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. The episode is narrated thus in the Gospel according to Saint Luke (Ch. 1: 26-38): “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee. But she was greatly troubled… And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary… you shall bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus”. Therefore, the angel bears a phylactery where his greeting is inscribed (“Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta”) and makes the gesture of addressing Mary. She, on the other hand, places her hand on her breast expressing the surprise that the angel's appearance causes in her. In the other hand she is holding an open book, suggesting that when the angel appeared she was reading.