Episodes from the Life of Christ: Annunciation

probably 18th or 19th century

Northern Italian 18th or 19th Century

This is a drawing of an angel and a woman engaged in prayer. The angel is holding a branch and kneeling on the left, while the woman is also kneeling and praying at a lectern with an open book on the right. A dove is depicted above them, emitting light. The background features an architectural setting with a tiled floor and a column to the right. The artwork is created using lines and shading to add depth and dimension, and the circular format focuses attention on the central figures and the interaction happening.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    nielloed silver

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    diameter: 4.2 cm (1 5/8 in.)
    engraved composition: 4 cm (1 9/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1961.9.155

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Collection of Leopoldo Cicognara [1767-1834], Venice;[1] Enrico Conti, Milan, before 1917(?); Trivulzio collection, Milan, after 1917; [2] (Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, 1878-1955, Rome and Florence);[3] purchased 26 June 1935 by Samuel H. Kress (1863-1955), New York; gift 27 September 1950 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[4] gift 1961 to NGA.
[1] Laura Aldovini, _I Nielli Trivulzio. Storia, Tecnica, Collezionismo,_Milan, 2021: 239.
[2] Aldovini, I Nielli Trivulzio, 239.
[3] The bill of sale included sculptures, maiolicas, furniture, antique velvets, paintings, and enamels, for a total of one hundred objects. Copy in NGA curatorial files. See also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, (https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/acquisitions/ACQ143).

Associated Names

Bibliography

2021

  • Aldovini, Laura. I Nielli Trivulzio. Storia, Tecnica, Collezionismo. Milan, 2021: 83, 94, 159, 236, 239-242, 273, no. 65, fig. 49, pl. XVII

Wikidata ID

Q63854491

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