Annunciation. Ecce Ancilla Domini, or The Annunciation, is an oil painting by the English artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, first painted in 1850 and now in Tate Britain in London.
The Latin title is a quotation from the Vulgate text of the first chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke, describing the Annunciation, where Mary accepts the message brought to her by the Angel Gabriel that she would give birth to a child by God. Rossetti deliberately used a limited colour range for this oil painting.
The predominance of white, symbolic of virginity, is complemented by vibrant blue and red, for Christ's blood. Lilies are traditionally the symbol of Mary in Italian Renaissance art, but they are also considered funereal flowers, indicative of Christ's death.
Christina Rossetti posed for Mary but, as with her previous year's modelling, her brother altered her hair colour: in this instance making it auburn to continue the red palette. William Rossetti posed for Gabriel.
This painting received mixed reviews. The most obvious break with tradition was Rossetti's choice of placing Mary in bed-her long nightgown suggestive of a newly-wed bride-woken by the angel, who is normally depicted appearing as Mary prays. Also controversial were Gabriel's lack of wings and his obvious nakedness, glimpsed through the side of his robe. Note also the dove's halo, and the differences between Mary's and Gabriel's haloes, which
The Latin title is a quotation from the Vulgate text of the first chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke, describing the Annunciation, where Mary accepts the message brought to her by the Angel Gabriel that she would give birth to a child by God. Rossetti deliberately used a limited colour range for this oil painting.
The predominance of white, symbolic of virginity, is complemented by vibrant blue and red, for Christ's blood. Lilies are traditionally the symbol of Mary in Italian Renaissance art, but they are also considered funereal flowers, indicative of Christ's death.
Christina Rossetti posed for Mary but, as with her previous year's modelling, her brother altered her hair colour: in this instance making it auburn to continue the red palette. William Rossetti posed for Gabriel.
This painting received mixed reviews. The most obvious break with tradition was Rossetti's choice of placing Mary in bed-her long nightgown suggestive of a newly-wed bride-woken by the angel, who is normally depicted appearing as Mary prays. Also controversial were Gabriel's lack of wings and his obvious nakedness, glimpsed through the side of his robe. Note also the dove's halo, and the differences between Mary's and Gabriel's haloes, which
Wikipedia ...