'The Annunciation' was a theme that Burne-Jones had worked on before, specifically in the 1860's triptych oil painting 'The Adoration of the Kings and Shepherds', intended for Saint Paul's Church in Brighton and now at Tate Britain. In the wings of the triptych Burne-Jones depicted the Virgin Mary, and the angel Gabriel on the other side. Burne-Jones also produced a watercolour from 1863 with the Virgin kneeling in what appears to be her bedroom, accepting the lily from the messenger of God.