The Annunciation
Circa 540
Mosaic
Poreč Cathedral, Croatia
The boy or youth holding back the curtain is a feature that will be seen again in
this detail
from a 12th-century French tympanum and in
this clipeus
in the reliefs of the west façade at Orvieto Cathedral. Mary's blue mantle is also typical in Visitation images in the ensuing centuries.
The whole composition has a hieratic quality. The stole visible below the hem of Elizabeth's mantle is a priestly vestment, and the shape of the house in the background suggests a small temple.
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Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.