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While Joseph works in his carpenter's shop, the angel steals into the house and announces the birth of Christ to Mary. Engraving by J. Sadeler, ca. 1615, after J. Robusti, il Tintoretto. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Bible. N.T. Luke 1.26-35. Joseph, in his chaotic workshop, saws at what appears to be a coffin. Mary has the Bible on her lap and a sewing needle on the table next to her, a reference to her days as a virginal seamstress in the Temple. The angel carries a bunch of lilies. The pillar separating the two scenes shows signs of ruination
The attitudes and postures of the Virgin and the angel have varied significantly in Christian iconography. The plethora of differing images of the Annunciation provides an insight into the history of emotion and its representation in gesture. The Virgin's hand is usually active; sometimes she is intently studying, sometimes she is in a gesture of almost carnal surprise. She may be glorified, or on the other hand she may kneel. The angel also varies in relation to her: he might kneel before her. After the Council of Trent, the angel was set in the air, "reacting against the excessive 'familiarity' of religious art of the 15th century"-- L. Réau, 'Iconographie de l'art chrétien', Paris 1957, vol. 2, book 2, pp. 178-187 (particularly p. 182)
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