New! The Annunciation – by John William Waterhouse – Beautiful Catholic Art – Archival Quality

When we've realized God has asked us to do something very hard, we can say no. We can even bow our heads and pray, saying, sorry, sorry, it's just too hard for one as frail as myself. What a pure soul was Mary! The splendor of our race! God asked her to do something incredibly hard, to bear the Messiah! Let alone to be pregnant as an unmarried woman at a time when that was like being a leper. To have the scorn and moral judgement of your community. Oh so terribly hard!

This Annunciation shows her fear, not just of the angel, but as it was sinking in what he was asking of her on God's behalf. Yet her faith and trust in God carried her to the Yes that saved the world. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to thy word. Amen. Amen. She is a perfect model for us of faithfulness.

John William Waterhouse (1849- 1917), one of the Pre-Raphaelites, painted this in the twilight of that style, in 1914. It's taking on some of the illustration style of the time, telling a magnificent story.

** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a blank border around the image. Approximately 0.5" wide for 5x7, 1.3" for 8.5x11, 1.6" for 11x14, and 1.75" for 13x17 and 16x20. For the two poster sizes, 18x24 and 24x36, we use 0.5" borders. We do this because the ratio of the rectangle of the art almost never matches the rectangle of the paper, and if it did happen to match one size, it would not match the others. Most fine art printers do this because otherwise they’d have to crop the art or warp it to make it fit the paper. The border looks good. It gives the picture a faux matted appearance.

There is almost always a little more border either on the left-right sides, or the top-bottom, depending on whether the ratio of the art is wider or taller than the paper.

We make Archival Quality fine art prints:

– Acid-free paper

– Archival pigments

– Cardboard backer for sizes 11x14 and less.

– Above story of the art

– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal-clear bag.

– Rated to last 200+ years without fading if kept dry and out of the direct sun.

Thanks for your interest!

+JMJ+

Sue & John

Lincoln, Nebraska

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.”

~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and any image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – Classic Catholic Art.