"The Annunciation"

This is a thoroughly modern interpretation of an often-depicted biblical scene. Unlike more traditional depictions of the scene, in which Gabriel is shown as an enormous, winged figure hovering before Mary, Tanner renders Gabriel as a brilliant burst of light, thereby redirecting the viewer's gaze to Mary and the moment of conception.  Here the locale of a momentous event is depicted in a familiar yet unlikely place: the unadorned bedroom of a young woman who is awakened in the dead of night.

Tanner's interpretation of the moment of conception, and perhaps revelation, serves as an example of how he used religious subjects to offer viewers another perspective from which to see themselves and their experiences: extraordinary events take place in the most unlikely places.  The idea that viewers can find something in such a scene to relate to their own lives was a thoroughly modern approach to a religious subject and helped contribute to how Tanner stood out in this field.