Annunciation

This Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci, dated to around 1472, depicts the episode from the Gospel of Luke in which the angel Gabriel tells Mary she will be the mother of Christ. The composition follows a highly formal arrangement inherited from Fra Angelico's Annunciations: the Virgin sits to the right while the angel, in profile, approaches from the left holding a white lily, a symbol of purity. The setting is the novelty. The scene unfolds outdoors, in a small enclosed garden beside a Florentine villa, whereas earlier tradition usually placed the Virgin indoors or in a hortus conclusus. To preserve the intimacy of the encounter, Leonardo lets a bed be glimpsed within the palace. The angel has the wings of a real bird rather than a peacock, reflecting the artist's interest in avian anatomy. The original wings are thought to have been shorter and were later lengthened by another artist, which makes little sense for an angel who is landing. Mary is not shown as submissive either: one finger rests on her book while her other hand is raised in greeting, suggesting confidence rather than resignation. Its authorship is debated. A collaboration with Ghirlandaio or with Verrocchio's pupils has been proposed, partly because of the stiffer features, such as the angel's compact curls, which lack the soft blending typical of Leonardo. That inexperience, along with the need to finish a work for which he did not bear full responsibility, may explain the simplifications. The panel remained unknown until 1867, when it reached the Uffizi from a sacristy in Florence, and in 1869 some critics recognised it as an early work by Leonardo. The background landscape, with its river, mountains and cypresses arranged like columns, already shows the atmospheric perspective that Leonardo preferred to geometric perspective.

Painter

Leonardo da Vinci

Date

1472

Medium

oil paint, panel

Dimensions

90 × 222 cm

Museum

Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Movement

Italian Renaissance

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Annunciation, Mary, Gabriel

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