Federico Barocci, The Annunciation, 1592-96, canvas, Perugia, S.Maria degli Angeli, Coli-Pontani Chapel.

Lorenzo Lotto c.1480-1556, Italian, The Annunciation, c.1527, oil on canvas, 65 1/2x45 (166x114 cm), Pinacoteca Civica, Recanati

     How differently these two painters showed the Annunciation: one showed it as a peaceful scene and the other portrayed it with the archangel Gabriel landing with a crash. Both of them, however, got one thing right, yes, the presence of the cat, a thing ignored by other humans. The cat is said to be a local rat-catcher and it did nothing special except witness the Annunciation.