One of Angelico's most familiar subjects was the Annunciation, and the most interesting of the Cortona pictures, is that of the angel's visit to Mary. Its motive is simple and clear, as it was transmitted from early Christian art; the general lines are unchanged, but the expression greatly so. Fra Angelico did not disturb the religious solemnity of the apparition with useless accessories; faithful to his own sentiment, he has clothed Mary with humility. She sits beneath the portico, the book neglected on her lap, her hands crossed, and her drooping head inclined towards the heavenly messenger. The golden-winged angel with roseate robe also bends before the Virgin, the right hand pointing to her breast and the left to the dove which sheds celestial rays on Mary's head. In the background Adam and Eve are being expelled from the terrestrial Paradise, symbol of the ancient Christian legend which directly connects the story of original sin with that of the Redemption. This mystic subject, which does not lack grace and freshness in the Cortona painting, finds its fuller development in San Marco at Florence. Here the Madonna is seated on a wooden stool, her head projected forward almost in ecstasy, with hands clasped on her breast, and in similar attitude the angel half kneels before her. The scene takes place before a little grated window in the colonnade of a cloister, utterly bare of ornament, but in this very simplicity lies all the charm and poetry of Angelico. Before a subject so ideal, so solemn, which reveals in such intensity of faith and feeling how his thought spontaneously turned to the prayer of the Salutation which was certainly on the artist's lips as he painted, or was inspired by some sweet Annunciation hymn such as this, which probably has been often repeated before this entrancing picture: Alzando gli occhi vidi Maria bella Col libro in mano, e l' angel gli favella. Dinnanzi a lei si stava inginocchiato Quell' angel Gabriel tanto lucente, Ed umilmente a lei ebbe parlato: "Vergine pura, non temer niente; Messaggio son di Dio onnipotente, Che t' ha eletta e vuolti per sua sposa." E poi le disse: "In cielo e ordinato, Che siate madre del figliuol di Dio, Pero che gli angeli il padre han pregato, Che con effetto adempia el lor disio; E da parte del sommo e buono Dio, Questa benedizione a voi s' appella." Queste parole fur tanto infiammate E circundate di virtu d' amore, Che ben parean da Dio fussin mandate, E molto se n' allegra nel suo core: "Da poi che piace all' alto Dio Signore, Io son contenta d' essere sua ancella." Ella si stava dentro alla sua cella, E grande meraviglia si faceva, Pero che a nessun uomo ella favella, E molto timorosa rispondeva. L' angelo disse allora: "Ave Maria, Di grazia tu se' piena, o chiara stella."