ARTWORKS

The Annunciation

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682)

The Wallace Collection

The Annunciation

Image credit: The Wallace Collection

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The painting depicts the moment described in Saint Luke's Gospel (I, 26–38) when the Angel Gabriel tells Mary she is to bear Jesus, the Son of God. Murillo typically transforms the domestic scene into one of celestial glory by means of his translucent colour and vaporous painterly effects. A column of divine golden light illuminates the kneeling Mary. Cloud-borne angels swirl above her and Gabriel, hovering to one side, gestures to the descending dove of the Holy Spirit. Mary’s earthly preoccupations, symbolised by the sewing basket in the foreground, are forgotten in this moment of divine revelation. Painted c.1665–1670, the picture closely resembles another Annunciation painted c.1688 for the Capuchin church in Seville.

The Wallace Collection

London

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Title

The Annunciation

Date

c.1665–c.1670

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 187 x W 134 cm

Accession number

P68

Acquisition method

acquired by Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, 1843; bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace, 1897

Work type

Painting

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The Wallace Collection

Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, Greater London W1U 3BN England

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Artist or maker

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

1617–1682

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