According to the Gospel, the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary is the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would bear a son and become the mother of Jesus Christ. The icon’s centerpiece depicts the Annunciation with a crib of the Ustyug type.
The “Ustyug Annunciation” is based on a simple and very ancient iconographic manner of depicting the subject. It originated not even in Byzantine, but in early Christian art.
The icon depicts both participants of the event full-length — the Archangel Gabriel and the Blessed Virgin Mary who has received the news. With his right wing and hand, the Archangel makes a blessing gesture, clearly showing the unconditional grace granted to Mary.
The Virgin Mary stands on a low pedestal and looks straight ahead, with Her head tilted toward the Archangel Gabriel as a sign that She heeds the message and receives the grace granted by him. Such icons usually feature a symbol of Annunciation — the Christ Child on the chest of Mary, on top of the omophorion (a vestment worn over the shoulders). He is not depicted in this particular icon.
In the right hand of the Virgin Mary, there is a scarlet thread from the tow (a flax or wool fiber) which She holds in Her left hand while spinning something. At the top, above the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary, there is the Ancient of Days — the image of God the Father — with a beam of light shining upon Mary.
The “Ustyug Annunciation” conveys the essence of the Gospel story in an unusually concise manner. The ancient icon mesmerizes with the joyful miracle unfolding in its hidden depths.
In the border scenes
around the centerpiece, there are the main events in the life of the Blessed
Virgin Mary and Her parents Joachim and Anne: Joachim and Anne’s Offerings, The
Rejection of Joachim and Anne’s Offerings, The Annunciation to Joachim in the
Desert, The Annunciation to Anne in the Garden, The Conception of Saint Anne,
The Nativity of Mary, The Blessing by the Priests, Joachim and Anne Cuddling Up
Mary, The First Steps of Mary, The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The
Suitors Praying Before the Rods, The Virgin Entrusted to Joseph, The
Annunciation to the Virgin at the Well, The Nativity of Jesus, Archangel
Gabriel Informing the Virgin of Her Impending Death, The Virgin Mary on the
Mount of Olives, The Virgin’s Farewell to the Wives of Jerusalem, and The
Dormition of the Mother of God.
