The Annunciation
Panel
ca. 1540 (made)
ca. 1540 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This panel and another in the Victoria and Albert Museum showing Christ Preaching (Museum number: 69-1899) are said to come from the church of Saint-Nicholas-le-Painteur in Normandy. The French Revolutionary government closed this church in 1791, and it was demolished in 1840. It is not known what happened to the large window to which these panels belonged.
The two panels were linked to Saint-Nicholas by Jean Lafond, who was a renowned French expert in stained glass. He discovered drawings dating from the early 18th century that depicted the window in this church.
The details in the drawings are sketchy and do not match the museum's panels precisely. The major difference between the drawings and this panel lies in the depiction of the Holy Spirit with which Mary was impregnated.
The Annunciation imagery refers to the moment in which the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that God has chosen her to be the mother of his Son, Jesus Christ. Through her, by the power of the Holy Spirit, God was made flesh/became human. This is the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation. Thus the two natures of Jesus Christ, both divine and human, are as one at the moment of his conception in the human, Mary. The Holy Spirit is usually depicted by a dove descending from heaven, sometimes with God the Father visible in the top corner. In the drawing all we see is God the Father in the top corner, but no dove. In the stained-glass panel we see only a small child flying towards the Virgin carrying a cross. This peculiarity is sometimes seen in Netherlandish and German work, as in the famous Mérode Altarpiece in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
However, this imagery was opposed by the Catholic Church, because it suggests that Christ did not take his human form from Mary. This is theologically unacceptable, and such representations were officially banned during the Counter-Reformation, at the Council of Trent (1545-63).
The panel was restored before it came into the Victoria and Albert Museum's collections. New pieces of glass were inserted, supposedly to replace lost glass. The painting of the small child differs in quality from that of the major figures in the composition, but that would not be unusual since it was not uncommon for more than one artist to work on large commissions. It is possible that the roundel with the small child is not original to this panel, but it is of the same period and could have come only from an Annunciation scene.
The two panels were linked to Saint-Nicholas by Jean Lafond, who was a renowned French expert in stained glass. He discovered drawings dating from the early 18th century that depicted the window in this church.
The details in the drawings are sketchy and do not match the museum's panels precisely. The major difference between the drawings and this panel lies in the depiction of the Holy Spirit with which Mary was impregnated.
The Annunciation imagery refers to the moment in which the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that God has chosen her to be the mother of his Son, Jesus Christ. Through her, by the power of the Holy Spirit, God was made flesh/became human. This is the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation. Thus the two natures of Jesus Christ, both divine and human, are as one at the moment of his conception in the human, Mary. The Holy Spirit is usually depicted by a dove descending from heaven, sometimes with God the Father visible in the top corner. In the drawing all we see is God the Father in the top corner, but no dove. In the stained-glass panel we see only a small child flying towards the Virgin carrying a cross. This peculiarity is sometimes seen in Netherlandish and German work, as in the famous Mérode Altarpiece in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
However, this imagery was opposed by the Catholic Church, because it suggests that Christ did not take his human form from Mary. This is theologically unacceptable, and such representations were officially banned during the Counter-Reformation, at the Council of Trent (1545-63).
The panel was restored before it came into the Victoria and Albert Museum's collections. New pieces of glass were inserted, supposedly to replace lost glass. The painting of the small child differs in quality from that of the major figures in the composition, but that would not be unusual since it was not uncommon for more than one artist to work on large commissions. It is possible that the roundel with the small child is not original to this panel, but it is of the same period and could have come only from an Annunciation scene.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Annunciation (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Clear, coloured and flashed glass with painted details and yellow (silver) stain |
| Brief description | Panel of clear, coloured and flashed glass with painted details and yellow (silver) stain. Depicting the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary. Made in France, probably in a workshop in Rouen, Normandy, c.1540. |
| Physical description | The angel Gabriel advances from the left towards the Virgin who is kneeling under a portico of Renaissance style. In the background is a landscape with trees. The shield, argent on a chevron azure five gouttes (drops), is supported by a small semi-naked figure with a halo. There is a figure of the Christ Child carrying the cross in the place of the dove of the Holy Spirit. The panel is painted in black, silver-yellow, and red and brown enamel. The charge on the shield is executed by abrasion. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | AVE GRACTIA (Abbreviated text for:
AVE MARIA PLENA GRATIA (Hail Mary Full of Grace))
|
| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Formerly in Craven Cottage in Fulham, now destroyed. Bought from B. Jarvis. The church of Saint-Nicholas-le-Painteur was closed by the Revolutionary government in 1791 and was demolished in 1840. |
| Historical context | Drawings of the stained glass windows of the church of Saint-Nicholas-le-Painteur carried out by the priest Jean Barc in the early 18th century show their subject matter. From these drawings it is evident that this window and the one of Christ Preaching (69-1899) come from a window dedicated to the Pelerinage de la vie humaine, illustrating the journey of man towards Salvation. This panel shows the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. The arms of the male donor (his wife's are seen impaled with his in 69-1899) are held by a nimbed putto at the bottom right. The families to whom these arms belong have not yet been identified. The details in the drawing which are said to be of this panel are sketchy and do not match the museum's panel precisely. The major difference between the drawing and this panel is in the way the Holy Spirit with which Mary was impregnated is depicted. |
| Summary | This panel and another in the Victoria and Albert Museum showing Christ Preaching (Museum number: 69-1899) are said to come from the church of Saint-Nicholas-le-Painteur in Normandy. The French Revolutionary government closed this church in 1791, and it was demolished in 1840. It is not known what happened to the large window to which these panels belonged. The two panels were linked to Saint-Nicholas by Jean Lafond, who was a renowned French expert in stained glass. He discovered drawings dating from the early 18th century that depicted the window in this church. The details in the drawings are sketchy and do not match the museum's panels precisely. The major difference between the drawings and this panel lies in the depiction of the Holy Spirit with which Mary was impregnated. The Annunciation imagery refers to the moment in which the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that God has chosen her to be the mother of his Son, Jesus Christ. Through her, by the power of the Holy Spirit, God was made flesh/became human. This is the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation. Thus the two natures of Jesus Christ, both divine and human, are as one at the moment of his conception in the human, Mary. The Holy Spirit is usually depicted by a dove descending from heaven, sometimes with God the Father visible in the top corner. In the drawing all we see is God the Father in the top corner, but no dove. In the stained-glass panel we see only a small child flying towards the Virgin carrying a cross. This peculiarity is sometimes seen in Netherlandish and German work, as in the famous Mérode Altarpiece in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. However, this imagery was opposed by the Catholic Church, because it suggests that Christ did not take his human form from Mary. This is theologically unacceptable, and such representations were officially banned during the Counter-Reformation, at the Council of Trent (1545-63). The panel was restored before it came into the Victoria and Albert Museum's collections. New pieces of glass were inserted, supposedly to replace lost glass. The painting of the small child differs in quality from that of the major figures in the composition, but that would not be unusual since it was not uncommon for more than one artist to work on large commissions. It is possible that the roundel with the small child is not original to this panel, but it is of the same period and could have come only from an Annunciation scene. |
| Bibliographic reference | T. Faulkner, Historical Account of Fulham, 1813, p.434 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 68-1899 |
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| Record created | July 28, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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