In St Luke's account of the Annunciation he describes the Virgin's troubled mind when the angel Gabriel suddenly appeared and said:
Hail, thou art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women
Not only was she afraid at this salutation and confused as to its meaning, she was also alarmed and bewildered when told she was to give birth to a child, even though she was a virgin. However, the story recounts how, once the angel had explained that she was to give birth to the Son of God, the Virgin submissively accepted God's will.
The Virgin's various reactions have been portrayed in a number of ways by artists. In the Courtauld triptych (fig.1), Daddi shows the Virgin leaning back with fear and concern, whereas in the Altenburg triptych (fig.2), he shows her leaning towards the angel with her hands crossed over her chest, signifying her submission.
A similar example of the Virgin's submission can be seen in Fra Angelico's version (fig.3), whereas Simone Martini portrays the Virgin twisting sharply away from the angel with a look of concern and dismay (fig.4).
