When we visited Florence last December, we were astonished by the abundant riches of art available in museums and churches. Without a deep knowledge of art history, it was hard for us to truly appreciate what we were exposed to.
Nevertheless, a highlight for us was visiting a curated temporary exhibition, in the Palazzo Strozzi, focusing on the work of Fra Angelico (1395-1455) and his contemporaries. Given that Fra Angelico was a member of a religious order, the exhibition mainly focused on familiar religious themes.
In the courtyard of the Palazzo Strozzi, we were fascinated by a large art installation representing a modern reinterpretation of the Annunciation (the feature image for this post). The artwork, by an American artist known as KAWS, is entitled “The Message” (1974). It was placed there in dialogue with the Fra Angelico exhibition. It made us reflect on how artists view the world.
As a fun exercise, we decided to start looking for Annunciation scenes everywhere we went around the city, in paintings, sculptures, reliquaries, altarpieces and frescoes. Most of the examples we saw were from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance.
Each time, we examined the depiction of the Archangel and Mary, their clothing, facial expressions and body language, the location of the event, the symbols added to the setting, the presence of other participants, etc. We saw interesting variations in how this very popular scene has been portrayed over time.
Florence and Pisa were two cities where the cult of Mary was particularly important in the Middle Ages. Accordingly, their calendar year started on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation. However, in 1750, the cities were forced by a decree from the Grand Duke of Tuscany to adopt the Gregorian calendar that was in use in the rest of the country.
Since 2000, the Municipality of Florence has revived the Capodanno Fiorentino (Florentine New Year) tradition as a new tourist attraction, with a week-long program of festivities, starting with the celebration of the Florentine New Year’s Eve on March 24. This sounds like a great pretext for a return visit.
According to the Catholic faith, the Annunciation commemorates the visitation of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary to announce to her that she had been chosen to be the mother of God. She humbly accepted her destiny. Following this logic, it makes sense, that nine months later, believers celebrate the birth of Jesus, on December 25.
The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, a magnificent and richly decorated baroque church in the centre of Florence, is at the heart of the cult of Mary in the city. It contains a venerated image of the Virgin called the “Madonna Annunziata.” It is believed that the original thirteenth century fresco was “miraculous.” The story goes that the friar painting the scene, a certain Bartolomeo, fell asleep on the job only to wake up to find that an angel had completed his work by painting the face of Mary. Special events are held in the church during the Capodanno Fiorentino.
We are aware that there are whole books and PhD theses written about the topic of the Annunciation in art. The same applies to the depiction of Mary as an idealized model for women. Pursuing these topics would be a whole new story. With our short video below, we only aim to share with you the fruits of our fun little quest to seek out Annunciation scenes during our visit to Florence. We hope you will enjoy it.
I love your depiction. Thank you, as always, for sharing your unique insights.