The Annunciation– by Henry Tanner

The Annunciation– by Henry Tanner February 3, 2025

Art can often convey so much more about a Biblical story than mere words.   I’ve just been introduced to this painting by an artist who painted in the late 19th and early 20th century–  Henry Tanner (d. 1937).   Tanner it is clear wanted to depict a young Mary, surprised or even shocked when the angel came and hailed her and told her the shocking story of what was going to happen to her, provided she agreed to do God’s will.   There is commentary about this painting in the wonderful BBC series done several years ago by the Scottish artist Lachlan Goudie, the son of an artist who did paintings of Christ’s crucifixion.  Goudie took a trip to Israel to paint the Gospel scenes.  Here is the link to the second part of his BBC series about art and the Gospel story. It’s wonderfully done.

And here is the painting itself—-

The look on Mary’s face is priceless, as if she’s asking, are you sure you’ve got the right Mary?  And I like that the angel is depicted as a vision of light, rather than a winged creature (see Mike Heiser’s book Angels, in regard to whether angels were the same thing as cherubim or seraphim who had wings–Isaiah 6).  This girl in the painting is about the right age for teenaged Mary.    Obviously the annunciation was a private event, which Mary must have told Joseph, and presumably Jesus about at some point, otherwise we would not have Luke’s story about this world changing event.  I’ve suggested that during Luke’s two year stay with Paul in Caesarea Maritima he would have had time to go and interview some members of the Jerusalem church, and perhaps Mary herself.  In any case, this painting captures the moment of encounter beautifully.


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