Inspired by Francesco Pesellino, The Annunciation, c. 1450-55.

We chose The Annunciation by Francesco Pesellino because the painting looks simple. We were attracted by the frame in the middle created by the two panels of the diptych. There was a mystery behind the image which we wanted to find out about.

We looked at the artist’s biography and the story behind the image: the moment where Angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will give birth to Jesus, the son of God.
The painting was done in the Renaissance, and Pesellino was not religious.

It was done with tempera on wood and has sapphire crystal in Mary’s dress. If you look up close, you can also see in one of the angel’s face where it has previously been drawn.

Our animation shows the journey we imagined Gabriel took to send the message to Mary. Gabriel is flying towards his destination when he is stopped by a dove which steals the message. This leads Gabriel to chase the dove to retrieve the message.

Our animation was made on stop frame animation with drawings and cut outs.

We really enjoyed the experience of doing the animation.