ABSTRACT
To see the Annunciation, a fresco by Fra Angelico in San Marco in Florence, you approach the painting from below. It is on the wall at the top of a steep flight of steps that lead up to the monks’ cells. Along the bottom of the fresco is an inscription: ‘Virginia intacte cum veneris ante figuram pretereundo cave ne sileature ave.’ ‘When you come before the image of the Ever-Virgin, take heed that you do not neglect to say an Ave.’ This injunction was made to all who entered the north dormitory, which was the place where the lay brothers and important male visitors slept. The Virgin and the Immaculate Conception are to be acknowledged, she and the Angel must not be ignored. This fresco moves me, not because of its obvious devotional aspect, but because the Virgin seems touchingly self-protective as she listens to the Angel’s message. Mary has her hands crossed over her stomach in an acknowledgement of the Angel Gabriel’s presence, and this gesture is mirrored by Gabriel. Despite the depiction of a miraculous event, the delicacy and lack of artifice of Angelico’s painting suggest an ordinariness and humanness about Mary as she accepts her part as intermediary and vessel. As well as joy there is a sadness and a sense of ambivalence. God will be made Man through Mary and as a result as a man he will die. Birth will also bring forth death. The Angel brings a message of both.
