Annunciatie 1808 - 1864

Achille Désiré Lefèvre created this print of the Annunciation sometime in the first half of the 19th century. The image shows the Angel Gabriel telling Mary that she will give birth to Jesus. Prints like this one played an important social role in nineteenth-century Europe. Well before the age of mechanical reproduction, prints were a key technology in democratizing access to art. Religious imagery, in particular, had a strong social function in France. After the revolution, the Catholic church regained control of education, and under the constitutional monarchy the state made an effort to promote the church. Pictures of the Annunciation became a common way to promote socially conservative ideas about women’s roles in society. Historians consult official records of educational policy, along with popular magazines and pamphlets, to understand the institutional and social context of images like this one. The meaning of this print lies as much in its historical setting as in its aesthetic qualities.