Annunciation of John the Baptist's Birth

The priest Zacharias kneels before a large, smoking altar within a monumental, vaulted temple as clouds of incense rise toward the ceiling. Opposite him, the winged angel Gabriel appears with a hand raised in a gesture of announcement. In the background, other figures and priests are visible through the grand classical arches of the sanctuary.

This print by the leading Haarlem Mannerist Hendrick Goltzius illustrates a scene that held significant interest for Renaissance Christian Kabbalists. The depiction of the Temple’s interior and the precise ritual of incense burning resonates with the esoteric fascination with the Temple of Solomon as a blueprint for cosmic order and a site of theurgical communication between man and the divine.