3. The Annunciation

The third film in the series focusing on one of Christianity’s central figures: The Virgin Mary.

It focuses on the Annunciation, discussing an ivory from Western Germany, The Annunciation (c.1000) in the Bode-Museum, Berlin, and Piero del Pollaiuolo’s The Annunciation (c.1470) in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.

Presented by VCS Director Professor Ben Quash and Deputy Director Dr Jennifer Sliwka.

Artworks: Western Germany, The Annunciation, c.1000, Ivory, Bode-Museum, Berlin, inv. no. 567; Piero del Pollaiuolo, The Annunciation, c.1470, Poplar wood, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Kat. Nr. 73.

Part of the Series Unlocking Christian Art. Produced in partnership with the National Museums in Berlin, these short films tell the story of the Virgin Mary with the help of the treasures of the Bode-Museum and the Gemäldegalerie, both sculpture and painting. These films are designed to equip users to understand, read, and enjoy some of Europe’s greatest works of Christian art, as well as the texts that inspired them, and to encourage fresh interpretation and insight in today’s audiences.