The Annunciation
It depicts the annunciation made by Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. He tells her that she will become the mother of the son of God.
It is part of the Nazareth complex, one of the oldest of the Sacro Monte. It was originally built around 1514, to represent the holy house of Loreto, with the statues of the Virgin Mary with Child, by Gaudenzio Ferrari, later moved to chapel 9.
By 1578, after the redesign by Galeazzo Alessi, it was adapted to the mystery of the Annunciation, with the statues of the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary, created by Gaudenzio Ferrari. They are wooden mannequins dating back to the early sixteenth century, finished and painted in the visible portions, and dressed with fabric clothes.
The Virgin Mary's expression and her posture express the agitation for the announcement of the archangel. In fact, the artist shared Leonardo da Vinci's reflections, on the representation of the soul moods. This had been a theme of great relevance in the Lombard artistic movement, since the end of the fifteenth century.
The walls were decorated by 1578, with characters from the Old Testament, who prophesied the Annunciation. The artist combined Gaudenzio Ferrari's culture with the new Mannerist style.