"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.