La Anunciación

Luis Juárez, a member of the first generation of painters to be born in New Spain, developed a personal style in which the Flemish influence was emphasized and the forms softened. Due to the painstaking technique with which he executed all his oeuvre and his consequent influence on the development of many other painters, many of his works have survived without problems of conservation. This piece shows us some of the features of the painters style - i.e. meticulous detail, an accentuation of the folds in the drapery, lighting of scenes from above and very tender treatment of the characters' faces. In the upper lefthand comer, strongly lit amid clouds, God the Father looks down on the scene which is unfolding at the bottom of the work, while the Holy Spirit descends, in the form of a dove, towards Mary, who, first frightened by the sudden appearance of the Archangel Gabriel, listens to the message that he bears and resigns herself to the will of God. For his part, Gabriel looks at Mary and lifts his left hand to show that he is uttering the word of God, while holding a white lily in his right hand to symbolize Her purity and virginity. This piece passed to the MUNAL from the San Diego Viceregal Painting Gallery in the year 2000.