The Celestial Hierarchy
Gabriel and the Annunciation
The messenger who kneels with a lily and speaks first — the single scene that fixed how an angel should look.
9 angel paintings, dated 1505–1907. Painters with the most works here: Gerard David (2) and Matthias Grünewald (2).
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The Angel of the AnnunciationElisabetta SiraniFrom$350
The Angel of the AnnunciationGerard DavidFrom$350
Archangel Gabriel and Virgin AnnunciateGerard DavidFrom$350
Angel of the AnnunciationGuido ReniFrom$350
The Annunciation; Virgin and Child with Angels; The Resurrection (2nd face with open wings)Matthias GrünewaldFrom$350
Archangel Gabriel (detail from the Annunciation from the Isenheim Altarpiece)Matthias GrünewaldFrom$350
Annunciation. Archangel Gabriel.Nicholas RoerichFrom$350
The Madonna of the Fish (The Madonna with the Archangel Gabriel and St. Jerome)RaphaelFrom$350
Annunciation the AngelTintorettoFrom$350
Gabriel exists in painting almost entirely for one scene. He arrives at the Annunciation, usually from the left, usually kneeling or just landing, carrying a lily for the Virgin's purity and sometimes a scroll with the words of the greeting. The room he arrives in is often as carefully painted as he is: the Annunciation is where painters put their perspective, their tiled floors and their most expensive blue.