Ecce Ancilla Domini! (The Annunciation)
- Artist: Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- Date: 1849–50
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 724 x 419 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the “Ecce Ancilla Domini! (The Annunciation)” by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, painted between 1849 and 1850. The work is an oil on canvas, 724 × 419 mm, showing a domestic scene that feels more like a dream than a classic biblical tableau. Rossetti places the Virgin Mary, who he chose to model on his sister Christina, in her bedroom, jolting awake to the visit of Archangel Gabriel. The room’s low bed and the subtle glow of a lamp create a claustrophobic mood, hinting at the anxiety that the angel’s announcement brings.
The artist pulls from medieval iconography—Mary’s white gown, the lily and dove symbolising purity and the Holy Spirit—but he injects a modern psychological depth. The wide eyes of the Virgin and her slightly recoiling posture make the moment feel immediate and personal. The color palette is deliberately limited to whites, blues and a touch of red, underscoring the celestial, earthly, and sacrificial aspects of the narrative.
Rossetti’s brushwork is precise; the vertical division of space by the bed’s edge and a hanging blue banner echoes the Golden Section, guiding the eye toward the angel’s outstretched hand and the unfurling lily. The painting was bought in 1886 and has since highlighted how the Pre‑Raphaelites blended medieval reverence with intimate, contemporary emotion.
See it in person
Ecce Ancilla Domini! (The Annunciation) is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
