AMORY: This Annunciation was painted by Hans Memling a German-born artist who worked in Bruges and painted in the Netherlandish style. Here is Maryan Ainsworth, Curator of European Paintings, who speaks about Gabriel’s Annunciation to the Virgin Mary.

AINSWORTH: Gabriel has just come onto the scene, to announce that she will be the mother of the son of god, and she pauses from her reading, slightly rising to her feet, but then swooning with the news. The fact that the incarnation has already taken place seems to be suggested by the dove who circles above her, and by her rather full belly, which is accentuated in fact by her pose, by her swooning.

AMORY: Gabriel is dressed in ecclesiastical attire, wearing a very elaborate cope. If you look near his right elbow, you’ll notice an eagle, the symbol of Saint John the Evangelist.

AINSWORTH: John the Evangelist did not in fact write about the Annunciation. But this symbol does seem to follow the meaning of his words in the Gospels, where he says “And the Word was Made Flesh.” And that’s really what this painting is about. It’s about the inception of the incarnation, the beginning of it all, and the making flesh of what was spiritual.

AMORY: To hear how Hans Memling—and other Netherlandish painters—achieved such luminous effects in works like this Annunciation, press the play button now.