Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28), the red-robed angel Gabriel announces to the apprehensive virgin Mary, in this 1874 stained glass designed by the English painter Edward Burne-Jones and executed by his friend and fellow artist William Morris. Only the Gospel of Luke describes the moment when Mary learns she will become the mother of God. Although Luke describes the event as occurring in or near Mary’s home, Burne-Jones sets it instead in the Garden of Eden: Between the two figures stands the Tree of Knowledge, from which hangs the dead serpent (shown with […]
