Lorenzo Maitani and Associates, The Annunciation
First half of the 14th century
Marble relief
Detail from the reliefs on the west façade, Orvieto Cathedral
The image presents the moment when Mary says, "be it done unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38) and she becomes pregnant. The angel, who always stood in early Annunciation images, kneels not only to her but to the Son of God within her. The book she holds close to her belly is another way the image references "the Word" in her womb. Books are often included in Annunciations of this period because of the remark in pseudo-Matthew that she "was always engaged in prayer and in searching the law." The prophet and his scroll on the right represent the prophecies of the Incarnation that Christians saw in "the Law" (that is, the Old Testament)
that she had been studying.
The angel's blessing gesture visualizes the words he spoke at the beginning of the episode, "blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1:28). Mary's hand-on-midriff gesture subtly alters the common hand-on-breast gesture in many other Annunciations that registers her initial trepidation at the angel's greeting (Luke 1:29). The viewer familiar with Annunciation images could thus imagine her hand moving from the traditional position to this one as a sign of her transition from fear to acceptance.
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Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.