1437 A.D.

The Annunciation, 1437-1446 Fra Angelico

The Annunciation, 1437-1446
Fra Angelico
Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy

The Annunciation (the announcement) is that key moment in Christian history when the angel Gabriel appears to Mary and announces that she will give birth to a son by miraculous means.

Fra Angelico, monk and artist of the 15th century, frescoed (meaning painted on wet plaster) The Annunciation, one of the most revered masterpieces of all time.  Artists down the centuries have been mightily influenced by this classic work.
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600 years later, 2017

Annunciation 2, after Fra Angelico, 2017, David Hockney

Annunciation 2, after Fra Angelico, 2017
David Hockney

David Hockney, the great 80-year-old British artist, reports that during his first year in art school he came upon Fra Angelico’s painting of The Annunciation.  He was stunned by its beauty and symmetry.  Sixty years later, he is still painting his interpretation of this masterpiece.
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1907-1914 Cubism and Picasso astonishes art world

Annunciation, 1934, Roy de Maistre, Private collection, Switzerland

Annunciation, 1934
Roy de Maistre
Private collection, Switzerland

Cubism (objects and figures radically fragmented) heavily influenced Australian artist Roy de Maistre in his painting Annunciation.
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1961-2030 Pop art transcends to fine art

The Annunciation of the Virgin Deal, 2012, Grayson Perry, Woven tapestry in wool, silk, cotton, acrylic and polyester, Currell Collection

The Annunciation of the Virgin Deal, 2012
Grayson Perry
Woven tapestry in wool, silk, cotton, acrylic and polyester, Currell Collection

Grayson Perry, 60, tackles subjects that are universally human: religion, identity, gender, social status, and sexuality. He tries to deal with them with humor yet with a sense of the sacred.

The Annunciation is filled with symbols! Watch this…
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