On the fresco there is the second scene from the Protoevangelium (II), which depicts the announcement by the angel to Joachim and Anne about the birth of the Virgin Mary. On the left side of the image Anne is talking to the maid. In the center of composition is Joachim who is praying in the desert. On the right side — messengers are telling Anne that her husband has received the good news and he is coming home. At the top of the lunette there is the announcement of the angel to Joachim and Anne.

General Information:
Protoevangelium of James is early Christian apocrypha about the life of the Virgin Mary and the Nativity of Jesus Christ. Apocrypha became the basis for a comprehensive narrative cycle, traditionally included in the decoration system of the Virgin’s temples. In ancient Russian monumental painting of the 16th-17th centuries the Protoevangelium cycle is often adjacent to the cycle of the Akathist to the Virgin Mary.

The full name: The Annunciation to Joachim and Anne.
Time of creation: 1641.
Technique: fresco, tempera.
Location: The South-Eastern lunette