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Reproduced after an original panel painting from the Ghent Altarpiece in the Ghent Cathedral, Belgium. 1432 A.D. In the original painting by Jan Van Eyck, Gabriel is kneeling before Mary as part of the Annunciation scene. Gabriel appears inside a room from a traditional Northern European home. It is a personalized representation of the Annunciation in which the artist explores spacial relationships and perspective, a characteristic of the Renaissance. Gabriel holds the Annunciation Lily flower with three petals, a symbol of Mary's Immaculate Purity. Gabriel means God is my strength. Gabriel is the Angel of annunciation, resurrection, mercy, vengeance, death and revelation. Gabriel is the ruler of heaven and ruler of the Cherubim. Gabriel is said to sit on the left hand side of God. Muhammad claimed it was Gabriel who dictated to him the Koran. In Jewish legend it was Gabriel who dealt death and destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah. Gabriel appeared to Daniel to tell him of the coming of a Messiah: a message which later he repeats to Mary in the annunciation. Earlier he had announced to Zacharias the coming of John the Baptist.