David’s “The Annunciation” is pretty amazing! I sat for two hours, on the floor of the Met, taking notes, in order to fully appreciate the painting’s message. I was really inspired by what I was able to see for myself, as well as engaging the various people who stopped by to see such a masterpiece.

David is a brilliant painter, he was born in 1455 and died in 1523 and his work is “Dutch”. “The Annunciation” is merely a part of a complete multi-story polyptych. The medium is oil on wood and was originally commissioned in 1506 by Vincenzo Sauli; a wealthy banker and diplomat for the high altar of the Abby Benedictine church of San Gerolamo Della Cervara, near Genoa. The ensemble created a synthesis of Northern and Italian artistic modes. David struck a rare balance between detailed description and elevated exposition.

To begin with, “The Annunciation” is actually two panels side by side, complementing each other, with the action of the Holy Spirit approaching Mary to impregnate her with the child Jesus, through the gesture of the angel of the annunciation. This is a common motif among many Renaissance artists, but David really captures the moment. The two paintings are approximately 3′ x 4′ each, and are well spaced, approximately 8″ apart for full effect.

The angel of the annunciation is only on the left panel. He is dressed in a soft-toned light blue outfit that achieves “fluid” action around him. The nearly iridescent red and green cape is inscribed with a Latin phrase that disappears into the folds and creases. The movement is achieved through the gesture of action, when the angel signals the dove, the Holy Spirit in the right panel, to approach the virgin.

The action is further hinted at by his bent knees, as seen through the clothing, as well as by very distinct gestures of his hands. By creating an anticipatory mood or action, David allows the angel to tell whoever is viewing the painting that he captured that moment in time as he saw it happen. The commanding gesture with the angel’s right hand establishes a triangular format between the two paintings. He connects them and allowed me to continue from one panel to the next. His left hand begins a secondary triangle, but with the addition of a three-section golden scepter. The scepter extends upwards into the area between the paintings and appears to point skyward. The top of the scepter has a pointed crown at the top, with a spiral middle section, and finally a smooth hilt at the bottom.

The room itself is a contemporary setting for that era. It is simple in design with a double-paned window and almost no furniture. The window itself is divided into four wooden storm panels. The two lower ones are closed and locked, with a simple metal latch, but the upper panels also reveal a view to the sky through a latticework made of metal. Nothing recognizable is visible through the glass, apart from the soft tones of a blue sky with clouds. The upper storm doors open inwards, inviting the angel.

The floor of both rooms is composed of a small section mosaic type that alternates between an almost ivory tone and is complemented by an alternation of soft pink in the concentric pattern. In addition, placed inside the tiles, there is also another pattern. The other pattern is established, (alternating), with a softer blue than the angel’s garment and a lighter shade of green. The mosaic lines, like the general perspective of the pieces, are directed towards the upper area between the paintings, following the line of the sceptre. Although the story is supposed to be in the same room, David seems to have made the same room, actually two separate places. An important note is that on the right panel, the floor that Mary is on has a hole in the bottom left corner at the bottom. There is a stone barrier, or edge, that seems to allow him to separate himself from the dark void seen through that hole. I feel that David is trying to show that his separation is from the world below, and that the annunciation is taking place on a higher plane than that same wicked world.

The walls of each painting are primarily wood-paneled, but the portrait on the left has fresco-like bluish cement topped halfway up. The blue of the cement is slightly darker than the angel’s clothing and allows the angel to stand out from the painting and from the corner of the room. There is a fireplace behind the angel, though he stands in front of it and blocks the view to break the flatness of the wall.

The expression on the angel’s face seems as if he is saying, even without words, that everything will be alright; a kind of heat emanating from within. Helping the warmth are two burgundy pillows, which are located on the bench along the wall. They look very soft and comfortable, just like in the scene. In turn, they connect the left half of the dyad, with the right, completing a (horizontal) line, along the top of the small wooden table. On that table, there is a bible supported by a third smaller pillow that sits before the Virgin. It is not open on any particular page, but the traditional interpretation of the David painting, such as Robert Campin’s “Merode Altarpiece”, would be consistent with the scene as written: The Bible is open or implied at the Annunciation. The pages flip randomly and do not reflect any specific point in the book.

The main path of view originates from the angel, then intersects with the right painting and focuses on the Holy Spirit, the dove, finally on the Virgin. The dove is positioned just off center and above Mary’s head at the top of the scene. The flight path of that bird leads to the final destination to be with Maria. There is a golden radiance with a bluish hue surrounding the bird, from a source behind it. The Virgin also has the same radiance emanating from behind her head, but hers is not as bright and lacks the bluish cast.

Mary’s face looks gloomy and quite possibly frightened. Her hands lay crossed, open on her chest, as she knelt before the Bible. Her gaze goes straight to whoever sees this work, but she also walks past them. I feel like her face can be brought out more from the scene because of the dress she is wearing. That dress is a bright and rich royal blue color, with a gold design along its edge. As with the angel’s garment, the drapery folds created in both figures are comparable to those of Jan Van Eyck. They produce a depth and a feeling about them, as with all the canvases in the paintings.

An ivory-colored white pitcher marks Maria’s right side. Three white lilies sprout from it. Those lilies signify purity in the moment… holiness. That holiness is added to by a soft red velvet bag lying in front of her, on the floor. There is a set of rosaries without a crucifix spilling out to Mary from that bag. Since the rosary is dedicated to Mary, she took it as a gift from God for her future role as mother of the Christian savior, Jesus Christ. A circular path around the painting is achieved from those rosaries to the dove and back to the angel. It is a well balanced representation.

Directly behind the Virgin, there is a bed covered with a dark blue cloth. The bedding is derived from extensions of that fabric, originating from two tendrils above the view. They go down to swallow the bed to the ground. Once again, David’s use of a slightly contrasting shade of blue allowed me to extract all the key elements from the paintings. Blue is a common motif within “The Annunciation”.

Light symmetry is also a factor for both panels. The left looks brighter. I suppose that from the presence of the angel, in addition to the open panels of the upper windows, the set of paintings thus reveals this difference. In the right panel, Mary is enveloped in a darker light. This darker appearance may be due to the fact that the Holy Spirit is the “light” in that room, in addition to the illumination of Mary behind her head. Maria’s lighting seems to be very secondary in the scene.

As I said before, perspective lines are implemented to give depth to the work. The only miss David managed was the bottom shelf of the table, under the bible. That shelf is out of perspective. However, it took a while to choose that. Other than that one discrepancy, all of the elements within the rooms are beautifully set in multi-point perspective. The main line of sight is directed towards the central area between the paintings in a 45 degree pyramidal direction, from the tiles.

The other paintings of David in this polyptych are such masterpieces as “The Rest on the Flight into Egypt”, “The Crucifixion”, “The Nativity” and “The Virgin and Child and the Four Angels”. I have to see them all. Each drew my attention away from the Met and onto the scenes. I have really grown from my visit and will return to this new treasure of the arts.

Bibliography

1. History of Art: Revised Edition; Volume 2; Marilyn Stokstad; Harry N. Abrams Inc., published 1999

2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Gerard David “The Annunciation”

3. FA18 @ Suffolk County Community College; 2000