Italian school; 18th century.
"Virgin of the Annunciation".
Oil on canvas. Re-drawn.
Measurements: 62 x 54 cm.
Devotional image in which the bust of the Virgin is represented, following the aesthetic models of Carlo Maratta (Camerano, 1625 - Rome, 1713). Mary holds her hands to her breast in a pious pose and turns her face slightly downwards. The Annunciation is an episode widely represented throughout the history of Christian art, given that it is one of the main dogmas of the Church, that of the Incarnation. It is also included in both the cycle of the life of Christ and the life of the Virgin, which gives it renewed meaning as a narrative episode. With regard to the theme alluding to the Virgin of the Annunciation, the iconographic tradition includes a more narrative scene in which the Archangel Gabriel appears to the Virgin to tell her that she is pregnant. Normally the Virgin is placed behind an altar or table, where a book or white lilies, iconographic attributes associated with the Virgin, are usually placed. However, over the centuries the elements began to be reduced, as can be seen in important works that depict the same iconography of the Annunciation, based exclusively on the representation of the Virgin. An example of this is The Madonna of the Annunciation in Messina.