The Annunciation

The day before yesterday, I went to see Leonard da Vinci’s “The Annunciation” now on exhibition at Tokyo National Museum. Uh-oh, I had to queue up for thirty minutes to enter the museum. Furthermore, even inside, I had to proceed at very slow pace until I finally came in front of the picture. I was very happy then, but frankly speaking I was quite frustrated at the same time. Though I wanted to take time to look it up close, the frequent call “Please don’t stand still. Move forward,” urged me to go reluctantly forward.

“The Annunciation” is a beautiful and intriguing masterpiece. Geometrically pruned trees on the left and the blurred scenery far beyond are impressive. The delicate facial expressions of Maria and Archangel Gabriel seemed to imply some deeper meanings. Seeing this picture, I always come to think of something great in the nature and what science can achieve, and also of Intelligent Design and cloning.