The Angel of the Annunciation

This is only half of a scene. An angel leans forward, one hand raised, caught in the act of speaking, and the words he carries are the Annunciation, the moment the angel Gabriel tells Mary she will bear Christ. His other half, the Virgin who received the message, was painted on a separate panel, and the altarpiece was broken up long ago, so Gabriel now delivers his news to an empty space beside him. Witz painted him around 1435 for the church of Saint Leonard in Basel, against the plain gold ground the whole altar shared. For a cycle built entirely around the promise of salvation, this was the hinge, the instant the promise is first spoken aloud. The angel's robe falls in the heavy, sculptural folds that mark everything Witz touched.