The ''Annunciation Triptych'' is a tempera on panel painting by the Italian late Gothic artist

Lorenzo Monaco Lorenzo Monaco (1370 – 1425) was an Italian painter of the late Gothic to early Renaissance age. He was born Piero di Giovanni in Siena, Italy. Little is known about his youth, apart from the fact that he was apprenticed in Florence. He was inf ...

, now housed in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Florence, Italy.

History

The triptych was commissioned for the church of San Procolo of Florence, where Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari saw it, but attributed it to Giotto. It was recognized as a work by Lorenzo Monaco by Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle in 1864. It has been variously dated from 1408 to 1418. The work had originally different cusps (perhaps with heads of prophets) and a predella, which is now lost.

Description

The painting includes compartments divided into two panels surmounted by cusps, each sharing a golden background. The central painting depicts the Virgin, on a throne barely under her dress visible, on the right, and a hovering

Angel of the Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

on the left. Behind her are parts of a house, including a double mullioned window, while next to her head is the Holy Ghost dove. The drapes feature intricate arabesques, perhaps influenced by the International Gothic style introduced by

Gherardo Starnina Gherardo Starnina (c. 1360–1413) was an Italian painter from Florence in the Quattrocento era. According to the biographer Giorgio Vasari, Starnina initially trained with Antonio Veneziano, then with Agnolo Gaddi. He is claimed to have part ...

and Lorenzo Ghiberti.

Sources

*{{cite book, editor=D. Parenti and A. Tartuferi , title=Intorno a Lorenzo Monaco. Nuovi studi sulla pittura tardogotica, publisher=Sillabe, location=Livorno , year=2007

External links

Page at Florence museums website
Paintings by Lorenzo Monaco 1410s paintings Paintings depicting the Annunciation Triptychs Paintings in the collection of the Galleria dell'Accademia