Rossetti’s Annunciation: The Face of Mary and the Reluctant Faith that says, “Neverthreless, Yes”.

  
I owe this picture to the pointer from Iain who commented on the Annunciation post a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't seen it before and Iain's comments gives a helpful and telling comparison between this Rossetti picture and that of Poussin.

Not disagreeing with you Iain, but wonder if the idealised face of a super-saint, or the scared look of a young woman, could ever adequately capture in one image the mystery of the Annunciation. What would the human face look like, giving visual expression to an encounter that rewrote her life hopes and reconfigured the story of the universe.

The classic images are here – the blue curtain of heaven juxtaposed to a window looking our on a tree and the sky, the natural and the heavenly worlds. The white lilies, emblem of the Virgin and offered as gift and a seal of the providence of God and the permission of Mary. The angel stands on light, flames of light, purity and guidance, presence and transience. And the angel's face though not unkind, is held in the perfect poise of one for whom refusal would be impossible, and beside them the red panel of sacrifice, itself ornamented with lilies.

Rossetti captures the ambiguity of Mary, her hesitant yes, the inner turmoil of fear and trust, of tempting denial and kindled devotion, of adolescent uncertainty mixed with adolescent recklessness and risk. And there can be no doubting the reality and personal cost of that risk. Scandal, misunderstanding, family disgrace, unconvincing explanations citing angels, a hurt and angry betrothed, and a future of hope overshadowed with dread. The halos are prominent, definitive of holiness, symbols of divine calling and readiness to serve. By the time the baby is born, she will not have her troubles to seek. Like many a mother, then and now, the yes to new life means no to so much of her own life.