This mosaic was installed in 1981 over the main doors to the historic The La Iglesia de Nuestra Senora Reina de Los Angeles Catholic Church (also called la Placita or the Plaza Church) in downtown Los Angeles CA.
It depicts the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, informing her that she will bear the Son of God. Gabriel's words to Mary are preserved in the Catholic "Hail Mary" prayer.
From the Public Art in LA website: (
visit link)
"L'Annunciazione (The Annunciation)
Background Information
1981. Isabel Piczek/Ilario da Viterbo, 7'4"H x 11'W. 535 N. Main Street
On August 2, 1769, the Portola expedition, which was marching to Monterey Bay to establish a Spanish claim to Alta California, camped along the Los Angeles River. They named the river El Rio de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula in recognition of the jubilee of Our Lady of Los Angeles of the Porciuncula which was observed the previous day. This important celebration in the Franciscan calendar remembers the day when St. Francis of Assisi founded his Order in 1208, and honors the village chapel, (the Porziuncula or little portion of land), where he was inspired.
Now totally enclosed within the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli near Assisi, the Porziuncula (Porciuncula) has a six-part mural painted on the sanctuary wall in 1393 by Ilario da Viterbo. The central panel, "L'Annunciazione," depicts the Archangel Gabriel announcing the divinity of Christ to the Virgin Mary as she receives the Holy Spirit from angels surrounding God in Heaven.
That section, replicated by Piczek in Byzantine tesserae from Pietra Santa, Italy, was dedicated on September 4, 1981--the Los Angeles Bicentennial--by Cardinal Timothy Manning as a reminder of the religious connection to the naming of our city.
The mosaic is located at the same place on the facade of the Plaza Church (officially known as "Our Lady Queen of Angels") where Henri Joseph Penelon executed a fresco in 1861 depicting two angels and Our Lady holding an infant Jesus. What was perhaps the earliest outdoor public mural in Los Angeles, it remained visible until 1950 when it was plastered over.
More context can be found in the LA County History Blog (
visit link)
"MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2016
The Annunciation Mosaic at the Plaza Church in Los Angeles
The Annunciation sits over the facade of Our Lady Queen of Angels Plaza Church on Main Street in old Los Angeles. It was created by Isabel Piczek, according to the Public Art in L.A. website, and is 7 feet, 4 inches tall and 11 feet wide. . . .
The mosaic was put together out of Byzantine tesserae from Pietra Santa, Italy in 1980. . . .
The mosaic replaced a plastered-over fresco dating from 1861 that showed Mary with the infant Jesus, along with two angels. The artist of that fresco was Henri Joseph Penelon, who came to Los Angeles from France in 1850 when he was in his early 20s.
Penelon was our first local artist, painting portraits of Los Angeles area luminaries like Don Jose Sepulveda and the man at right, Don Vicente Lugo. He was also a photographer and he may -- may -- have taken the first picture ever of Los Angeles. You can read about that (and see the picture, which actually shows the Plaza Church) in this KCET article by Nathan Masters.
Penelon lived until 1885, dying in Prescott, Arizona.
His fresco at the Plaza Church was plastered over in 1950; I haven't learned why -- was it deteriorating? fading? -- nor do I know what may have filled the space, if anything, before this mosaic.
And this mosaic was dedicated on September 4, 1981 (L.A.'s Bicentennial) by Cardinal Timothy Manning. Here it is as you can see it today, over the doors. This picture is on the Public Art in L.A. website (again), as is the text on the bronze plaque next to the doors:
La Iglesia de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles, oldest church in the city of Los Angeles. Dedicated December 8, 1822. Plaque placed by Californiana Parlor Native Daughters of the Golden West, March 20, 1983.
This mosaic at the Plaza Church is actually a replica of a painting in Italy created in 1393 by Ilario da Viterbo. "The Annunciation," or "L'Annunciazione," was part of a six panel mural that da Viterbo created for the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli near Assisi. That Basilica is built around the 9th century chapel called the Porziuncola, which is where St. Francis of Assisi renounced wealth, dedicated himself to God, and founded the Franciscan order in 1208"