Heinz Koppel (1919 Berlin, Germany – 1980 Cwmerfyn, Wales)
Annunciation, 1950
Oil on canvas
50.5 x 63.5 cm
Heinz Koppel Picture Trust
© The Estate of Heinz Koppel
Immigrated to England 1939
One of the most popular subjects in Christian art, the Annunciation refers to the angel Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin Mary that she will conceive a son, Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Koppel was one of many artists of Jewish heritage to revisit popular biblical stories in Western art but his retelling is highly original, following convention only in the positioning of his figures - the angel Gabriel on the left, the Virgin Mary on the right and the Holy Spirit fluttering above them - and in Mary's uncertain expression as she receives the news. The nakedness of both figures is highly unusual, as is their non-naturalistic treatment, and the foregrounding of details such as Gabriel's enlarged and exaggerated hand as he plays a harp or lyre and Mary's long, dangling earring. The vivid yellow palette which provides the backdrop to the composition is probably intended to convey the joyful nature of the announcement.
