Annunciation

This Annunciation by Fra Angelico — one of several versions he painted — brings together the Dominican friar's synthesis of gold-ground medieval tradition with the spatial innovations of the Early Renaissance. The architectural loggia that frames the scene, based on the porticoed buildings of contemporary Tuscany, grounds the divine encounter in recognizable space while the gold background declares its supernatural status. Fra Angelico's Angel Gabriel approaches with reverence, his wings folded, as the Virgin receives the news with humble acceptance.

The composition places the angel and Virgin within an architectural loggia that demonstrates Fra Angelico's growing command of one-point perspective, while the luminous color and gold ground maintain the transcendent quality essential to the subject.