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The Annunciation

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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The scene shows the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary that she would conceive a son, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Ghost. Gabriel holds a lily, a traditional symbol of the Virgin’s purity, and points upwards to the golden rays which are directed towards Mary. These rays originally emanated from a dove, a symbol of the Holy Ghost, which is no longer visible as the picture was cut down before it entered the National Gallery’s collection.

Giannicola’s early paintings, like this one, show the impact of the style of his fellow Umbrian painter, Perugino: here, Giannicola has copied Perugino’s designs for the figures of the Virgin and Gabriel. Gabriel is identical to Perugino’s Annunciation dated 1489 (Santa Maria Nuova, Fano); the figure of the Virgin is a direct copy of Perugino’s Virgin in the Albani Torlonia Altarpiece dated 1491 (Museo di Villa Albani, Rome).

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Annunciation

Date

late 15th century

Medium

Oil on wood

Measurements

H 61 x W 105.4 cm

Accession number

NG1104

Acquisition method

Bought, 1881

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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