The Annunciation
Artist: Giannicola di Paolo (Italian, Active 1484, died 1544)
Original Dimensions: 24" x 41 1/2"
Location: National Gallery of Art, London
About Artwork: (Late 15th century) "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)." - (National Gallery of Art, London)

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