A detail of the baptistery painting from Deir ez-Zor, Syria, that may portray the Virgin Mary. Credit Tony De Camillo/Yale University Art Gallery
An annunciation scene from a Byzantine 12th-century illuminated manuscript. ...France
... the second-century biography of Mary’s early life, usually called the Protevangelium of James, describes how one day, during a break from her work, “she took the pitcher and went forth to draw water, and behold, a voice said: ‘Hail, you are highly favored, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women.’ ...
...with the new interpretation of the figure, in connection with the Eastern iconography that came later, the lines invite a rather evident meaning. They appear to represent a motion toward the woman’s body and a spark of activity within it, as if something invisible were approaching and entering her — an incarnation.
Please click this link to view the entire article, which is well worth the read:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/opini ... share&_r=1