The Annunciation to Zacharias

Italian 15th Century

National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a man standing with his hands on his chest, looking up and to the right. A golden object hangs from one of his hands. He is wearing a white robe with black and gold trim and a pointed white hat. The man has pale skin, long gray hair, and a long gray beard. He is looking upward with a slight smile, and there is a golden halo around his head. He stands next to an ornately decorated blue table covered with a patterned white cloth. Above the man, near the top right corner of the room, there is a small person in blue robes with blue wings who hovers in the air, pointing downward towards the man. This person has pale skin and blond hair, and they also have a golden halo. The background features a domed gray ceiling with decorative red arch motifs. The painting is framed by decorative borders in gold, blue, and red, with a large cream-colored shape on the right that looks like a large letter I.