The ''Annunciation'' is an
oil-on-panel
A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel of wood, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not pain ...
painting by the Italian Renaissance master
Antonello da Messina
Antonello da Messina (; 1425–1430February 1479), properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio, but also called Antonello degli Antoni and Anglicized as Anthony of Messina, was an Italian painter from Messina, active during the Italian Early Ren ...
, executed in 1474. It is housed in the
Bellomo Palace Regional Gallery, in the historical center of
Syracuse
Syracuse most commonly refers to:
* Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse
* Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area
Syracuse may also refer to:
Places
* Syracuse railway station (disambiguation)
Italy
* Provi ...
,
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
.
History
The contract for the realization of the work was signed in August 1474 by Antonello and Giuliano Maniuni, a priest from
Palazzolo Acreide
Palazzolo Acreide ( Sicilian: ''Palazzolu'', in the local dialect: ''Palazzuolu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily ( southern Italy). It is from the city of Syracuse in the Hyblean Mountains. It is one of I Borghi ...
, for the local church of Santa Maria Annunziata. The work is subsequently not documented until it was rediscovered in 1897 by Enrico Mauceri, an employee of the Archaeological Museum of Syracuse. In 1902 a document explicitly attributing the work to Antonello was found.
The painting, which was in a poor state of preservation, was restored in 2006.
Description
The scene is set in a small room with a decorated beamed ceiling, supported by two columns which separate the right half of the painting (with the Virgin) from the left one (with the Angel). The background wall has two windows, with a third in another room visible on the right, according to an iconography derived from the
Flemish painting
Flemish painting flourished from the early 15th century until the 17th century, gradually becoming distinct from the painting of the rest of the Low Countries, especially the modern Netherlands. In the early period, up to about 1520, the painti ...
, using different light sources and spatial openings also in interiors.
The objects and the furnitures, as usually in Antonello's works, are finely detailed. They include the Virgin's bed in the background room, the
prie-dieu
A prie-dieu ( French: literally, "pray oGod") is a type of prayer desk primarily intended for private devotional use, but which may also be found in churches. A similar form of chair in domestic furniture is called "prie-dieu" by analogy. S ...
on which she is kneeling, the vase with a blue and white decoration in the foreground (now damaged). Mary has crossed hands while being reached by the dove of the Holy Spirit, sent by God through the opened window. She wears a typical blue mantle above a red dress. The angel, who holds the traditional lily (which is however hidden by a column) and blesses the Virgin, has a rich damask decoration. The face, crowned by long blonde hair, is adorned with a blue diadem, pearls and a ruby, typical details of the Flemish school.
Below is also the figure of a devout, the priest mentioned in the commission contract.
Further reading
*
External links
Web page on the painting and its restoration at the Sicilian Region website
{{authority control
1474 paintings
Paintings by Antonello da Messina
da Messina
Oil on panel paintings