Praying the Angelus with Art: This Week's Image

An unknown German artist created this lovely Annunciation sometime in the 16th century. From the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Praying the Angelus with Art: This Week's Image

This unusual image by American artist George Hitchcock seems to depict Mary just after Luke's Annunciation narrative ends: "then the Angel left her" (Lk 1:38). Mary is seen as a Dutch peasant girl standing not with a solitary lily denoting her purity, but in a whole field of white lilies.

From the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Used under the Creative Commons License.

Praying the Angelus with Art: This Week's Image

This week there are two engravings by the late 15th century artist Martin Schongauer. The images strip away all architectural details (except for a bit of floor where a bit of shadow may fall) and focus our attention only on the messenger and the Virgin.

From the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Praying the Angelus with Art: This Week's Image

This week's Annunciation may have a kind of double pedigree when it comes to sanctity. First of all, of course, there is the holiness of the theme: the Incarnation. But there is a second level in this particular work of art, and that is hinted at in the coat of arms at the top (added after the initial weaving): it is the coat of arms of Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua (1466-1519). In 1568, an heir to Francesco's title of Marquis was born. We know him as St Aloysius Gonzaga.

From the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Used under the Creative Commons License.