The Annunciation 

Editor: This delicate engraving depicts "The Annunciation" and is attributed to Virgil Solis. The use of pen and ink gives it a beautiful, almost ethereal quality. It feels both deeply spiritual and very human at the same time. What captures your imagination when you look at it? Curator: It’s interesting, isn’t it? The way the Northern Renaissance artists reimagined these very familiar scenes. For me, it’s always the little details that unlock a work like this. Did you notice the rabbits in the bottom corner? Editor: Yes, they are lovely! Though I hadn't thought too much about them specifically. Curator: Well, rabbits are an ancient symbol, associated with fertility and new life, appropriate for the scene, perhaps? But also a nod to earthly delights amidst the divine. It’s this contrast, the mixing of high and low, the sacred and the profane, that really defines much of the art of this period. It suggests to me the profound challenges facing the artist to balance all these elements into a whole, and suggests an almost subversive way to tackle accepted symbolism. Do you get that sense at all? Editor: I think I understand. It’s about challenging our own interpretations? It also shows the beauty that can be achieved in what might otherwise be considered very basic or modest material. Curator: Precisely! Solis, for me, achieves this with a wink and nudge. This work transcends pure illustration to become something that whispers secrets, don’t you think? Editor: Definitely. The detail invites close looking, and encourages that kind of pondering you describe, it has really stuck with me. Curator: Indeed. It’s like the image leaves its little tendrils in your memory... quite lovely.