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The Annunciation
Paolo Veronesec. 1580
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Although Veronese is best known for his large-scale, pageant-like presentations, here the artist has taken the narrative of the Annunciation (the announcement of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and bear a son) and compressed the figures close to one another, creating a startling intimacy. According to a tradition established by the medieval writer Saint Bernard, Mary has been reading from the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah (7:14), "A young woman is with child and she will bear a son."
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Details
- Title: The Annunciation
- Creator: Paolo Veronese (Italian, 1528–1588), Workshop
- Date Created: c. 1580
- Physical Dimensions: Framed: 176 x 159.5 x 9.5 cm (69 5/16 x 62 13/16 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 150 x 133.4 cm (59 1/16 x 52 1/2 in.)
- Provenance: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, (Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), Albert Koppel, Switzerland and Toronto, Ontario, consigned to Rosenberg & Stiebel, Leopold Koppel [1854-1933], Berlin, by descent to his son, Albert Koppel, Balboni collection, Venice, probably sold to Leopold Koppel
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.251
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Fun Fact: The white lilies held by Gabriel are a symbol of Mary's purity and innocence, often appearing in depictions of the Annunciation.
- Department: European Painting and Sculpture
- Culture: Italy, 16th century
- Credit Line: Gift of the Hanna Fund
- Collection: P - Italian 16th & 17th Century
- Accession Number: 1950.251
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