The perspective in the Annunciation

Created between 1472 and 1475 and conserved today at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Annunciation is one of Leonardo’s earliest paintings.

If we observe it from a frontal position, we can see what appear to be errors in perspective, which had been attributed, in the past, to Leonardo’s lack of experience: the transverse wall of Mary’s house appears too short, and the cornerstones appear too large for such a short section of wall. The lectern holding the book the Virgin is reading is so far away that she is forced to bend her right arm in an unnatural way, and finally, the figure of the archangel Gabriel appears too elongated.

Now stand at the oval marker on the floor and look at the painting again, from this angle: all the perspective errors have disappeared, and the figures appear perfectly proportioned. Realizing that the work would be viewed from the right and from slightly below, Leonardo composed the scene making use of the perspective expedients described in the video to the left of the painting.