Annunciation to Mary
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Other image examples
A Closer Look at Annunciation by Paul Woelfel
Nigerian artist Paul Woelfel’s watercolor painting of the Angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary reflects his African ancestry. Mary and Gabriel are of African descent, and Mary sits on an African-style chair. There are several other interesting things to notice about the painting:
- Gabriel has removed his shoes. This reminds us of Moses, who removed his shoes in the presence of the burning bush as a sign of respect and honor to God. By taking off his shoes, Gabriel shows us that Mary is holy, worthy of honor and praise.
- Look at the way God’s message is painted. First of all, it comes in the form of a letter, a letter so holy that Gabriel does not even touch it. Secondly, the message is accompanied by the Holy Spirit, depicted as a dove. Clearly the message is not of human origin, but comes from God.
- Notice the differences in the ground around Gabriel and Mary. Underneath Gabriel is barren, burned desert. Underneath Mary are grass and flowers, signs of new life. The child Mary will bear will bring new life to the world.
- Pay attention to Mary’s hands. Her right hand points to herself in such a way that we can almost hear her saying: “Who me? You’ve chosen me?” At the same time Mary lifts up her left hand signifying her willingness to answer God’s call.
Woelfel’s Annunciation and younger children
When considering this painting with younger children, the following questions are age appropriate:
- What do you see? What else do you see? Encourage the children to look carefully at the painting. For example, Yes, there are two flowers. How many petals do the flowers have? Do they each have the same number of petals or a different number? How would you describe the inside of the flower?
- What colors do you see? Are they bright colors? Dark colors? Help the children to notice how the colors are used. For example, the only green grass is by Mary. Both Mary and Gabriel have white around their faces.
- Are the painting’s lines straight or curvy? Ask the children to point out curvy lines in the painting. Are there any straight lines? Where are they? Are there more curvy or straight lines?
- Where is the message? Who gives the message? Who listens to the message? By asking such questions, you help the children understand who the characters are in the picture as well as understand the central action in the painting. Ask the children how they feel when they get special letters, and then wonder how Mary might have felt.
- The dove in this picture is important. Can you think of another story in the Bible with a dove? For many children this will be a difficult question because it assumes a high level of biblical literacy. However, questions can be worth asking even when the answer is hard to determine. It might be that such a question plants a seed that will grow some day during a lesson about Jesus’ baptism or Noah’s ark.