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The Annunciation

ca. 1720
Not on view

The traditional scene of the angel Gabriel announcing the birth of Jesus to Mary is rendered in brilliantly theatrical terms. The angel has flown into Mary’s humble bedchamber through an open window accompanied by the dove of the Holy Spirit; clouds billow around him; the shutter of the window opens toward the viewer; and a curtain at the right is as though drawn back to reveal the scene. The picture may be an independent work or a study for an altarpiece. Collectors prized bravura brushwork as a direct transcription of the artist’s creativity.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Annunciation
  • Artist: Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (Italian, Venice 1682–1754 Venice)
  • Date: ca. 1720
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 21 × 28 in. (53.3 × 71.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Promised Gift of Dianne Modestini, in memory of Mario Modestini, and in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary
  • Object Number: EP Piazzetta
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Bust of a Young Man, Possibly a Self-Portrait
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta
1738 (?)
Male and Female Heads (Piazzetta and Pittura)
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta
18th–19th century
Beatae Mariae Virginis Officium
Multiple artists/makers
1740
Allegory
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta
Vignette Illustrating Torquato Tasso's "Gerusalemme Liberata" (X:78), Giovanni Battista Piazzetta Italian, Red chalk over traces of graphite
Vignette Illustrating Torquato Tasso's "Gerusalemme Liberata" (X:78)
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta
1745

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