The Episcopal Church of St. Paul's Within the Walls in Rome features this 1888 Annunciation in mosaic, designed by Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones.
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| Annunciation St Paul's Within the Walls, Rome |
Greater detail, and an explanation from the church website:
On the face of the first arch, in front of the apse, is a representation of the Annunciation based on an early legend. We see Mary in the desert outside the town walls, drawing water from a spring. As she turns homeward, the angel greets her. Burne-Jones has chosen to represent this as happening against the reddening evening sky, the time of the Angelus. In the lower left-hand corner, we see a pelican, in medieval times a symbol of Christ, for according to popular belief it customarily tore open its breast with its beak to feed its hungry young. Under this scene is written the greeting of Gabriel: “Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee” (Luke 1:28) and Mary’s answer “Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy word.” (Luke 1:38)
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