Annunciation Window

The appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary is the event represented in this window. This event, called the “Annunciation,” is described in Luke (1:28): " ... Hail thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee...." Thus the divine messenger announces to Mary that she will give birth to the Son of God.

As in some of the earliest depictions of the Annunciation, Burnham depicts Gabriel as a majestic figure with large wings, with his right hand expressing a gesture of welcome and benediction. Gabriel is portrayed here as the principal figure, while the Virgin is shown in submissive and prayerful attitude at her prie-dieu. (After the 14th century, it was more typical to see the relative importance of the two figures reversed, with Mary depicted as the more powerful and imposing).

Gabriel is garbed in greenish-white robes, and his scepter terminates in a fleur-de-lis, an iconographical attribute associated with both Mary and Jesus. The tongue of fire associated with Gabriel symbolizes that he bears the Word of God. God is represented as the Holy Ghost in the form of a descending dove in the tracery-like design near the apex of the window. Gabriel is depicted with bright red, feathered wings. These swirl around his figure with the right one curving down and the left turned the opposite direction, curving upward and almost touching the dove. The static poses of both the Archangel and the Virgin are relieved by these curving, flowing lines and the intense red against the bright blue background.

Gabriel's halo is a bright, pure white (as compared to his robe, which has a pale greenish cast). Mary's halo contains red lozenges similar to those in the "picture frame” surrounding the scene, and is outlined in golden jewels. The two figures have perfect, placid faces. The viewer's eye tends to move from Mary's kneeling figure up to the Archangel and his bright halo, and then continues upward, following the curve of the red wing, which bi-sects the scene at the apex, meeting the descending dove.

The dove, as well as being symbolic of the Holy Ghost, is also used as a symbol of purity and peace. In the story of the flood, the dove is sent out from the ark by Noah to determine if the waters have receded, indicating that God has made peace with humanity (Genesis 8). Nevertheless, the most widespread use of the dove in Christian art is as the symbol of the Holy Ghost. This image is referenced in the Johanine account of the baptism of Jesus: "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it abode upon him” (John 1:32).

As in other windows, Burnham has once again confined a scene to a very shallow space, largely devoid of perspective. This space, nevertheless, is packed with symbols. Slightly behind Mary is a flowering lily (in this case, a potted fleur-de-lis), which is one of Mary's attributes, a symbol of the purity of the Virgin. Two six-pointed white stars are included in this window. One adorns a shield on the ventilator and the other is located under an arch of the tracery-like “building” behind Mary. The star is another iconographical attribute of the Virgin, although it is often placed on her cloak.

Mary is portrayed here as a young girl, both by her innocent looking face and her kneeling, almost child-like figure. The billowing garments where her knees would be makes her body seem forshortened. They help to break up the mostly straight lines of her robes, and tie in with the curving arabesques of the design on the ventilator.

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