2010.36
Annunciation
Artist
Denys Calvaert (Dionisio or Denis Calvaert)
(Antwerp, Belgium, ca. 1540 - 1619, Bologna, Italy)
Title
Annunciation
Creation Date
ca. 1595
Century
late 16th century
Dimensions
20 13/16 in. x 15 7/16 in. (52.86 cm x 39.21 cm)
Object Type
painting
Creation Place
Europe, Italy
Medium and Support
oil on copper
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, Laura T. and John H. Halford, Jr. Art Acquisition Fund, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund and Jane H. and Charles E. Parker, Jr. Art Acquisition Fund
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
2010.36
Born in Antwerp, Denys Calvaert was one of the first Northern artists to migrate to Italy, where he focused on Christian subjects. His work demonstrates the widespread power of Christian convictions among European adherents and their colonizing descendants. The Annunciation encapsulates a transformative moment in Christianity when the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear the Son of God, who would be called Jesus, conceived through the Holy Spirit. Painted on copper, its smooth surface gives a pearlescent sheen. The picture was almost certainly privately commissioned and, like Gherardo’s painting of Mary Magdalene on view nearby, used as a personal devotional object. Europeans believed that Christianity represented what was true and moral. As a result, other forms of worship or beliefs in the supernatural world were afforded little value, even though they that held great meaning among non-European cultures.