Look at this

Am I imagining it, or is the 'word of God' being drawn here as Saturn... descending in the beam of light?

If so.. why Saturn?

http://www.abcgallery.com/C/carpaccio/carpaccio42.html

Maybe we are looking at different things, but that 'thing' descending in the beam looks like a dove to me.

Why Saturn?

Saturn isn't the only ringed planet -- it could be Uranus. Maybe it just represents "planets" and not a specific planet because a "ball" might not be seen as a planet symbol. Dave

There's a dove visible in this larger image:

http://artyzm.com/e_obraz.php?id=2364

You're welcome, DianeOD. Took maybe five minutes to find it.

Clearly a dove, certainly not a planet of any kind.

Coincidentally I was reading an astrology book last night, that describes Saturn as the entry point for the incarnating soul. (As the most distant of the tradition planets, it takes a role like a gate of entry for the journey of incarnation, if I am understanding correctly). So in that context Saturn would be very appropriate, whether it was intended or not.

Diane,

DianeOD said:

Am I imagining it, or is the 'word of God' being drawn here as Saturn... descending in the beam of light?

If so.. why Saturn?

http://www.abcgallery.com/C/carpaccio/carpaccio42.html

Click to expand...

I don't see Saturn's rings in this picture. No one saw Saturn's rings in 1504. No one saw them until Galileo looked with his telescope in 1610. The rings are invisible to the naked eye.

The figure sending the beam isn't Saturn, it's God the Father sending a Dove to impregnate Mary. The Dove is the Holy Spirit.

Ross

Ross G Caldwell said:

I don't see Saturn's rings in this picture. No one saw Saturn's rings in 1504. No one saw them until Galileo looked with his telescope in 1610. The rings are invisible to the naked eye.

Click to expand...

LOL Ross, what a Joy you are!

I only thought to find a larger image of the painting, which shows clearly the Dove, as Marion saw with her keen eyes.

Debra said:

LOL Ross, what a Joy you are!

I only thought to find a larger image of the painting, which shows clearly the Dove, as Marion saw with her keen eyes.

What a good point--that NO ONE's unaided eyes can see the rings of Saturn!

Odd mistake, for someone specializing in astronomy and astronomical imagery to forget Galileo....

Click to expand...

It's true, but I think we've been had again. Diane can deny she said anything about rings in setting up her question asking about the identification of the figure as Saturn. She didn't mention the ring(s).

So we have to ask, what did make her think the figure was Saturn?

The only thing I can imagine her claiming is that it is an old man with a beard, and everybody knows that every old man in the sky with a long, white beard in art from the 00th to the late 19th (c.e.) century, must be Saturn. It wasn't the rings - it was the age and the beard. The fact that the painting is called, and shows in every conventional way, "The Annunciation", is irrelevant. Context be damned.

Ross