Sandro Botticelli’s Annunciation, painted from 1489-1490, is an example of Quattrocento art. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Annunciation (anglicised from the Latin Vulgate Luke 1:26-39 Annuntiatio navititatis Christi), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian Celebration of the announcement by the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, marking his Incarnation. Gabriel told Mary to name her son Yehoshua, meaning “YHWH is salvation”. Many Christians observe this event with the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March, nine full months before Christmas, the ceremonial birthday of Jesus. According to Luke 1:26, the Annunciation occurred “in the sixth month” of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist. Irenaeus (c. 130-202) of Lyon regarded the conception of Jesus as 25 March coinciding with the Passion.
Approximating the northern vernal equinox, the date of the Annunciation also marked the New Year in many places, including England, where it is called Lady Day. Both the Roman and Orthodox Catholic Churches hold that the Annunciation took place at Nazareth, but slightly differ as to the precise location. The Basilica of the Annunciation marks the site preferred by the former, while the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation marks that preferred by the latter.
The Annunciation has been a key topic in Christian art in general, as well as the Marian art in the Catholic Church, particularly during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.