The AnnunciationThe Annunciation, in a historiated initial on a cutting from a choirbook, illuminated manuscript on vellum. [Italy (Lombardy, Milan?), 15th century (2nd quarter)]
c. 185 × 180 mm, a cutting of a large initial ‘U’, the verso with part of five lines of text from the hymn ‘[Non demum] artemur malis pro …’, followed by a rubric ‘Ad Laudes hymnus’, and part of the music in square notation on red-ruled staves, the initial enclosing an unusual version of The Annunciation, set in the courtyard of an Italian palazzo with colonnaded walkway and stairs to an upper level, with the archangel Gabriel and the Virgin both kneeling, the Virgin holding in her left hand the book she has been reading (in somewhat battered condition overall, with smudging of the angel’s face, and some show-through of script from the reverse, but still very attractive and appealing)
Although somewhat damaged, this is a high quality illumination. The ornament and palette of the initial itself points to Lombardy, while the figures and their palette – including the bright red and yellow of Gabriel’s garments – are very close to works by the Third Bessarion Master, so called for his involvement with others in a series of important choirbooks made for Cardinal Bessarion (1439–1472). The figure-style and palette (but not the outer ornament, which suggests a somewhat later date) are close to that of an initial depicting The Calling of St Peter at the Cleveland Museum of Art (1943.386).
The modern viewer tends to think of the Annunciation as a single subject, but educated Renaissance viewers recognised several distinct moments and successive emotions: Luke's gospel records that the Virgin was at first ‘troubled’ by the sudden appearance of the angel; then, before the angel tells her to ‘fear not’, she reflects on his message; third, she enquires how it is possible that she, a virgin, will bear a child; next, before the angel disappears, she submits to her role, with humility. While many artists depicted the moment of the angel’s appearance, and the Virgin’s surprise, here we see her reflecting on, or submitting to, his message.
The AnnunciationThe Annunciation, in a historiated initial on a cutting from a choirbook, illuminated manuscript on vellum. [Italy (Lombardy, Milan?), 15th century (2nd quarter)]
c. 185 × 180 mm, a cutting of a large initial ‘U’, the verso with part of five lines of text from the hymn ‘[Non demum] artemur malis pro …’, followed by a rubric ‘Ad Laudes hymnus’, and part of the music in square notation on red-ruled staves, the initial enclosing an unusual version of The Annunciation, set in the courtyard of an Italian palazzo with colonnaded walkway and stairs to an upper level, with the archangel Gabriel and the Virgin both kneeling, the Virgin holding in her left hand the book she has been reading (in somewhat battered condition overall, with smudging of the angel’s face, and some show-through of script from the reverse, but still very attractive and appealing)
Although somewhat damaged, this is a high quality illumination. The ornament and palette of the initial itself points to Lombardy, while the figures and their palette – including the bright red and yellow of Gabriel’s garments – are very close to works by the Third Bessarion Master, so called for his involvement with others in a series of important choirbooks made for Cardinal Bessarion (1439–1472). The figure-style and palette (but not the outer ornament, which suggests a somewhat later date) are close to that of an initial depicting The Calling of St Peter at the Cleveland Museum of Art (1943.386).
The modern viewer tends to think of the Annunciation as a single subject, but educated Renaissance viewers recognised several distinct moments and successive emotions: Luke's gospel records that the Virgin was at first ‘troubled’ by the sudden appearance of the angel; then, before the angel tells her to ‘fear not’, she reflects on his message; third, she enquires how it is possible that she, a virgin, will bear a child; next, before the angel disappears, she submits to her role, with humility. While many artists depicted the moment of the angel’s appearance, and the Virgin’s surprise, here we see her reflecting on, or submitting to, his message.
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
