XI
THE ANNUNCIATION
BY ANDREA DELLA ROBBIA
The life of Mary the mother of Jesus was full of strange experiences. She had many sorrows to bear, but withal a joy beyond any ever given to woman. In the purity of her character she was set apart for a high and holy service.
The turning-point in her life was on a great day when the angel Gabriel was sent by God to visit her. It was in her quiet home in Nazareth that the celestial messenger "came in unto her." "Hail, thou that art highly favoured," he said, "the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." "And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be."
The angel spoke again, and his words reassured her: "Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God." Then he told her that she was to be the mother of a wonderful son. "Thou shalt call his name Jesus," he said. "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."[42]
When at last Mary understood the meaning of the angel's message she humbly accepted her great destiny. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," she replied; "be it unto me according to thy word." From this day until the birth of Jesus her thoughts were full of her coming motherhood. Once she broke forth into a song of praise:--
"My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden, For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his name."[43]
The bas-relief by Andrea della Robbia tells the story of the angel's visit to Mary, the subject usually called the Annunciation. At one side sits the Virgin with an open book on her lap, as if she had been reading. She has a girl's slender figure, and her head is modestly draped with a mantle. The angel kneels opposite, with folded hands. He has long pointed wings covered with feathers as "a bird of God," in Dante's phrase.
From above a fatherly face looks down upon them out of a surrounding circle of winged cherub heads. Beside the Virgin stands a jar of lilies, the flowers which symbolize the purity of her maidenhood. Over these soars a white dove, the same symbol of the Divine Spirit which descended upon Jesus at his baptism.[44]
 Alinari, photo.  John Andrew & Son, Sc. | |
| THE ANNUNCIATION (ANDREA DELLA ROBBIA) Altar Piece at La Verna | |
Already the angel has delivered his message, and now awaits the answer. His face is round and innocent like a child's, and his long hair is carefully curled. The Virgin has listened with drooping head, and with her hand pressed to her breast as if to still the beating of her heart. She seems too timid to lift her eyes to meet her radiant guest. Yet her whole attitude expresses submission to the divine will.
The artist has expressed with rare delicacy of imagination the religious sentiment of the incident. The interpretation is in a similar vein to that of the poet painter Rossetti in the lines on the Annunciation in the poem "Ave:"--
"Then suddenly the awe grew deep
As of a day to which all days
Were footsteps in God's secret ways;
Until a folding sense, like prayer,
Which is, as God is, everywhere,
Gathered about thee; and a voice
Spake to thee without any noise,
Being of the silence:--'Hail,' it said,
'Thou that art highly favouréd;
The Lord is with thee, here and now;
Blessed among all women thou.'"
Rossetti, it will be remembered, belonged to that circle of English artists who some fifty years ago attempted to revive the simple reverence of the Italian art previous to Raphael. Thus the "Pre-Raphaelite" poet and the sculptor, though separated by so many centuries, had the common aim of expressing "the sense of prayer" which gathered about the Virgin in this moment. Rossetti also treated the Annunciation in a picture which has interesting points of comparison with our illustration.
The relief is made in the Della Robbia enamelled terra cotta ware[.] The sculptor has here followed his uncle's example in the simplicity of the draperies. The modelling of the hands also recalls the touch of Luca. In choice of types, however, Andrea shows his individual taste. The fragile figure of the Virgin is as different as possible from the robust beauty of Luca's Madonna which we have studied. The angel too is of a softer and less vigorous character than the older artist would have designed.
The relief is surrounded by an elaborate frame of the same material. At the sides decorated pillars with Ionic capitals support an entablature, every section of which has its own distinctive design. The patterns ornamenting frieze and pillars seem to be variations on the lotus motive, and are very graceful. On the dado, or piece running across the bottom of the frame, is printed the Latin inscription: "Ecce Ancilla Domini. Fiat Mihi secundum verbum tuum" (Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word). It is interesting to notice that at this period the letters n and m were written above the line or united with the vowels which they followed.
[42] St. Luke, chapter i., verses 30-33.
[43] From the Magnificat in the Prayer Book version.
[44] St. Matthew, chapter iii., verse 16.