A far cry from Annunciation scenes in the Renaissance tradition,
Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Ecce Ancilla Domini (1850), one of the
earliest Pre-Raphaelite paintings, depicts the commonly
illustrated moment when the angel Gabriel comes to the Virgin
Mary to tell her that she will give birth to the Lord. although
Rossetti relies on earlier traditions for many of the symbols he
places in the scene, his method of employing these symbols, his
depiction of space, and most significantly his portrayal of the
two figures represent significant departures from earlier
tradition.  Early Netherlandish Annuciation scenes, such as the
central panel of Robert Campin's Merode Triptych (1425-30, New
York City, The Cloisters), The Annunciation attributed to Petrus
Christus (c. 1450, New York City, Metropolitan Museum), Robert
van der Weyden's Annunciation (1435, Louvre), and Hans Memling's
Annunciation (1480-89, New York City, Metropolitan Museum) all
depict lilies, the symbol of the Mary's purity, in a vase nearby
the scene of t