Thursday, March 25, 2010

Favor With God

For Catholics, today (March 25; nine months before Christmas Day) is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. It’s a day set aside to remember the visit of Angel Gabriel to Mary.

As recorded in Luke Chapter 1:

... Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ... "

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that The Annunciation is one of the most painted scenes in history. Artists throughout the centuries have sought to depict the moment. For some of these images, pay a visit to Fran.

In 2006, my old college friend Anthony Santella twice applied his hand to this task:



And, here is James Tissot's "L'annonciation" from the Brooklyn Museum of Art:

2 comments:

Fran said...

Your friend's work leaves me breathless. I remember seeing something of his at St. Paul's in NYC that day that we walked around.

Mariette said...

The top version of The Annunciation is one of my favorite of Anthony's pieces. When we got married, we moved it into our apartment.