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What biblical event does Fra Angelico portray in The Annunciation at Cortona?
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Fra Angelico
Madonna of Humility, tempera on panel by Fra Angelico, c. 1440; in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
In The Annunciation at Cortona, Fra Angelico portrays the Annunciation, a biblical event described in the Gospel According to Luke.12
This event depicts the moment the archangel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary to announce that she will conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit, who is to be named Jesus. In the painting, Fra Angelico illustrates the angelic messenger bowing before a seated Mary, while also incorporating a miniature depiction of the expulsion of Adam and Eve in the background.21