Plate 31 The Shrine of the Annunciation, Nazareth - After David Roberts

Roberts drew this composition on the 20th April 1839.
 
'Situated beneath the Church of the Annunciation was a small subterranean chamber in which there stood an altar, supposedly marking the exact spot in which the Angel appeared before the Virgin Mary in order to announce the divine mission that awaited her. The two columns that still stood on either side of the altar when David Roberts made his visit to Nazareth were said to have been the work of the Queen Helena, who supposedly had them erected on the site of the Annunciation because she had had a premonitory dream. One of the two columns, clearly visible in this illustration, had been shattered by a Turkish pasha who had come in avid search of hidden treasure; in the wake of such a desecration, it is said, the pasha lost his sight. The monks claimed that the upper section of the column simply levitated in midair without the slightest structural support, by divine will; nonetheless, to the mind of an unprejudiced observer, it seemed pretty clear that the fragment of column was solidly fastened to the ceiling. In fact, the upper section proved to be made of grey marble, while the lower section was without question a block of Cipolino marble.
 
All the same, the renown of these two columns amongst the gullible pilgrims was such that each one of them would rub up against them reverently and with devotion, secure in the knowledge that such contact provided sure balm against all ills and calamities. And on the other hand, the reasoning of faith often sorely twists and mishandles the reasoning of logic, producing what could only be called superstition; the most innocent-minded of superstitions, but superstition nonetheless.
 
And so tradition and it that it was precisely in the Grotto that the Virgin Mary spent a considerable portion of her youth, and above this tiny chamber stood the Holy House, which the Angels first transported to Dalmatia, and then to a woods near Recanati, and filly to Loreto - all to preserve it from profanation by the Muslims. It should further be noted that the earliest author to identify the small sanctuary of Loreto as the "House of Nazareth" was Pietro di Giorgio Tolomei da Teramo, who wrote an account in 1472 that was soon after expanded upon by Gerolamo Angelita, winning enormous and widespread credence in the popular imagination; further, the popes that found themselves in the situation of conferring privileges to the Sanctuary - Julius II and Leo X - considered it little more than a pious belief.' [1]
 
The drawings and watercolours from this tour by David Roberts of the Holy Land and Egypt were collated together into folios and released over a seven-year period by the publisher F.G. Moon from 20 Threadneedle Street London. This lithograph was published on June 1st 1844.
 
Medium: Original First Edition Lithograph, with later hand-colouring on thick woven paper.
 
Half Plate 31.
 
Inscribed l.l. 'David Roberts R.A.' and l.r. 'Shrine of the Annunciation Nazareth April 20th 1839', 20.2 x 26.9cm (lithograph size, the composition is arched), mounted (42.4 x 51.3cm).
 
The original title is visible through a cut out on the mount 'The Shrine of the Annunciation' and the original text from the publication in 1844 is included attached to the back of the mount.
 
References:
 
[1] Fabio Bourbon (ed). Yesterday and Today: The Holy Land. Swan Hill Press: London, 1996, pp.216-217. Translated by A.B.A. Milano.
 
Condition report: very good for its age. A few small markings and time staining, please see photos. Recently put into a new acid free mount.