The Annunciation
Part 1 - The Angel Gabriel
by Mikhail Nesterov

What could be more delicate? In this breathtaking painting, the Angel Gabriel is bringing the Word of God to Mary. He is clearly a being of great power, yet he is ultra-delicate and respectful, balanced carefully leaning forward, his hand reverently on his chest as he offers her the lily. Gabriel is the messenger of God. In this painting by Mikhail Nesterov, the message is portrayed visually as the symbol of a lily; hence the term "Symbolist" to describe this kind of paining style.

Nesterov was a religious painter and a conservative Tsarist Russian who somehow lived through the communist revolution. He continued to paint, but his religious paintings became more private after that. He has many astonishing paintings of Jesus and Mary and the Saints. This painting was done in 1898. The companion piece of Mary is equally breathtaking. They are painted with oil on wood, in the traditional diptych manner. A beautiful stand-alone piece if you're looking for an angel, or of course it looks wonderful paired with the picture of Mary.

** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border of about 0.5" inch for 5x7", 1.3" for 8.5x11", or 1.6" for 11x14" pictures. All Approx! Fine art printers do this because the images are almost never the same rectangular ratio of the standard paper sizes. It also gives the prints a finished look, and lets them look good in a frame without a matt.

- Acid-free paper
- Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
- Cardboard backer
- Above story of the art
- Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!

Thanks!
Sue & John

"In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art." ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson - CatholicArtAndJewelry.