Advent Art: Part One

Each week in Advent we’ll join Father Christopher Whitehead, the head of Adult Education at the Catholic diocese of Clifton in England, in conversation with Doctor James Hanvey, a Jesuit priest who’s an expert in art and culture. They’ll be telling us the Advent story through some amazing art.
This week - as Advent begins – let’s join Father James in London’s National Gallery in front of Carlo Crivelli’s painting of “The Annunciation with Saint Emidius” dating back to 1486. He says:
"Here we are in the National Gallery in London before a magnificent painting by Carlo Crivelli and it’s a very unusual picture of the Annunciation.... because it’s set in a very real setting of Ascoli, a town in Italy."

Father James says the first thing that strikes us about this painting is "the extraordinary richness of the colour and design." Another striking feature is the wall of the house which he says "is almost like a barrier between Our Lady at prayer and the Angel with his message." But then this barrier is pierced by "this very precise beam, the ray and it pierces directly into the house and touches Our Lady." The two art experts also point to the humour and vitality of this painting: "there's this tiny girl who's peaking around the corner...."
Listen: