Fra Angelico/ Annunciation of Christ to Mary/ 1442 AD/ Wall painting/ San Marco del Angelico Museum/ Florence, Italy/ Bridgman Art Library

The wall painting "The Annunciation of the Birth of Christ to Mary" by Fra Angelico, at first glance, shows a lot of weight on the right side of the composition. The angel has light-colored wings and more degrees of color change from light to dark. Maryam's figure, on the other hand, is pale as if it fades into the background of the work. This imbalance is compensated by the subtle guidance of the eyes. The viewer connects the figures with the help of their line of sight and the general arcs in the upper part of the painting.

Although guiding the eyes is usually not the only balancing method used by designers and painters, it is used more than other methods. . The direction of the eyes is carefully drawn and shown not only to create balance, but also to create a general unity.

Fra Angelico was an Italian Renaissance painter of the first half of the 15th century. He was influenced by Masaccio and followed the style of Martini and Piero della Francesca.

His specialty was drawing the figure of Christ.

Angelico was a master of artistic play with color and light. He studied at the School of Art in Florence. Angelico's name is a pseudonym and his real name was Guido Di Pietro. He died while painting in the Vatican Church.

Not much information is available about his art education, but the influence of international Gothic painters such as "Monaco" can be seen in his works.

Prepared and arranged by: Narges Saheb Ekhtiari