''Ecce Ancilla Domini'' (
Latin: "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord"), or ''The Annunciation'', is an
oil painting by the English artist
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, first painted in 1850 and now in
Tate Britain in London. The Latin title is a quotation from the
Vulgate text of the first chapter of the
Gospel of Saint Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volu ...
, describing the
Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
, where Mary accepts the message brought to her by the Angel Gabriel that she would give birth to a child (Jesus) by God.
The title is more correctly ''Ecce Ancilla Domini!'', but many sources ignore the exclamation mark.
Composition
Rossetti deliberately used a limited colour range for this oil painting. The predominance of white, symbolic of virginity, is complemented by vibrant blue (a colour associated with
Mary, though notably not used in his ''
The Girlhood of Mary Virgin
''The Girlhood of Mary Virgin'' is an 1849 oil on canvas painting by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, measuring 83.2 by 65.4 cm and now in the collection of Tate Britain, to which it was bequeathed in 1937 by Ag ...
'' in 1849) and red, for Christ's blood.
Lilies are traditionally the symbol of Mary in
Italian Renaissance art, but they are also considered funereal flowers, indicative of Christ's death.
History
The artist's sister,
Christina Rossetti, posed for Mary. As with her previous year's modelling, her brother altered her hair colour: in this instance, he made it auburn to continue the red
palette
Palette may refer to:
* Cosmetic palette, an archaeological form
* Palette, another name for a color scheme
* Palette (painting), a wooden board used for mixing colors for a painting
** Palette knife, an implement for painting
* Palette (company), ...
. His brother
William posed for
Gabriel.
This painting received mixed reviews. The most obvious break with tradition was Rossetti's choice of placing Mary in bed - her long nightgown suggestive of a newly-wed bride - woken by the angel, who is normally depicted appearing as Mary prays. Also controversial were Gabriel's lack of wings (the flames at his feet suggest a
Classical influence) and his obvious nakedness, glimpsed through the side of his robe. Note also the dove's halo, and the differences between Mary's and Gabriel's haloes, which may have arisen because Mary's was painted in 1850, whereas Gabriel's was not added until 1853.
The painting was first exhibited in April 1850 at the Old Portland Gallery on Regent Street. Francis McCracken, a well known Pre-Raphaelite patron, bought it in 1853 for £50 and the Tate Gallery purchased it in 1886. In February 2013 it was not on display. The painting was on display at the National Gallery of Australia from December 2018 to April 2019 as part of the ‘Love & Desire: Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces from the Tate’ exhibition.
Ecce Ancilla Domini! (The Annunciation) 1849-50
Tate Gallery, accessed February 3, 2012.
See also
* List of paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
* '' Rossetti and His Circle'' by Max Beerbohm
* Rossetti-Polidori family tree
References
Further reading
* Surtees, Virginia. (1971) ''Dante Gabriel Rossetti''. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
* Ash, Russell. (1995) ''Dante Gabriel Rossetti''. London: Pavilion Books ; New York: Abrams .
* Doughty, Oswald (1949) ''A Victorian Romantic: Dante Gabriel Rossetti'' London: Frederick Muller
* Fredeman, William E. (Ed.) (2002-8) ''The correspondence of Dante Gabriel Rossetti''. 7 Vols. Brewer, Cambridge.
* Hilto, Timoth (1970). ''The Pre-Raphelites''. London: Thames and Hudson, New York: Abrams.
* Dinah Roe: ''The Rossettis in Wonderland. A Victorian Family History''. Haus Publishing, London 2011, .
Rossetti, D. G. ''The House Of Life''
* Treuherz, Julian, Prettejohn, Elizabeth, and Becker, Edwin (2003). ''Dante Gabriel Rossetti''. London: Thames & Hudson, .
* Todd, Pamela (2001). ''Pre-Raphaelites at Home'', New York: Watson-Giptill Publications, .
External links
The Rossetti Archive
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery's Pre-Raphaelite Online Resource
by Ben Pollitt at Smarthistory
{{Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Collection of the Tate galleries
1850 paintings
Paintings depicting the Annunciation
