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Source Description
This unusually well-preserved and exquisitely painted altarpiece represents the moment that the archangel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that she will give birth to the Son of God, while mary's gesture with her right hand signals her acceptance of her destiny. The dialogue between them is inscribed in their haloes. In the spandrel above, David, one of the ancestors of Christ, is painted in his role as the Old Testament prophet. The little garden behind Gabriel is a hortus conclusus (enclosed garden), symbolic of Mary's virginity.The three predella panels (the painted base of an altarpiece) below this scene depict the birth of the Virgin, her presentation in the Temple, and her death. The less refined figure of David and the predella scenes differ in style from the Annunciation and must have been painted by Stefano di Antonio, who collaborated with Bicci di Lorenzo. The frame is original.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
36492
label
The Annunciation
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
3
Source metadata
id
36492
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
The Annunciation
description
This unusually well-preserved and exquisitely painted altarpiece represents the moment that the archangel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that she will give birth to the Son of God, while mary's gesture with her right hand signals her acceptance of her destiny. The dialogue between them is inscribed in their haloes. In the spandrel above, David, one of the ancestors of Christ, is painted in his role as the Old Testament prophet. The little garden behind Gabriel is a hortus conclusus (enclosed garden), symbolic of Mary's virginity.The three predella panels (the painted base of an altarpiece) below this scene depict the birth of the Virgin, her presentation in the Temple, and her death. The less refined figure of David and the predella scenes differ in style from the Annunciation and must have been painted by Stefano di Antonio, who collaborated with Bicci di Lorenzo. The frame is original.
provenance
Stefano Bardini Collection, prior to 1890 [mode of acquisition unknown] [cited in Fiorenza Scalia, La citta degli Uffizi-Florence, 1982, p.46 with 1890 photo of Bardini Gallery showing this painting]; Lawrence W. Hodson, Wolverhampton, Compton Hall, England [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Sale, Christie's, London, June 25, 1906, no. 187 [as early Italian school]; C. Fairfax-Murray, London and Florence, 1907 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1913, by purchase [Bernard Berenson as agent]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1430 (Renaissance)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
altarpieces
paintings
imageCount
3
pageCount
3
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
164.4
height
144.7
depth
25.4
dimensionsRaw
H with frame and canopy: 64 3/4 x W: 56 15/16 x D: 10 in. (164.4 x 144.7 x 25.4 cm); Main panel visible painted surface H: 44 1/2 x W: 49 x Approx. D: 1 3/4 in. (113 x 124.5 x 4.4 cm); Middle spandrel roundel approx. Diam: 5 1/2 in. (14 cm); Birth of the Virgin painted surface H, exclusive of gold borders: 5 11/16 x W: 13 9/16 in. (14.5 x 34.5 cm); Presentation of the Virgin painted surface H, exclusive of gold borders: 5 11/16 x W: 13 3/8 in. (14.5 x 34 cm); Dormition of the Virgin painted surface H, exclusive of gold borders: 5 11/16 x W: 13 9/16 in. (14.5 x 34.5 cm)
Source extras
cul
Italian
inscriptions
[Transcription] In the halo of the archangel
counter-clockwise: AVE.MARIA.GRATIA.PLENA.DNS.TECV; [Transcription] In the halo of the Virgin
clockwise: ECCE ANCILLA.DOMINI.FIAT.M$M.; [Transcription] On the book lying near the door: FEMIA / CIRCI / DABIT / VIRV[M] / IEREM / IA PHA / 31; [Transcription] On the book held by the Virgin: ECCE VIR / GO CONC / IPIET.; [Transcription] Across the base of the main panel
on the frame dividing it from the predella: O BENE FECVNDA VIRGINITAS QVE NOVO I[N]AVDITOQ[U]E GENERE ET MATER DICI POSSIT ET VIRGO.
med
tempera and gold leaf on panel
creator_ids
3433
4236
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
2064
13
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
fbe6975547e74bff
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
965e9ce968f5403c
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
375e71c546c9553b
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no