The Annunciation / Juan de Valdés Leal
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1962/1.99
- Title
- The Annunciation
- Artist
- Juan de Valdés Leal
- Artist Nationality
- Spanish
- Artist Life Dates
- 1622-1690
- Medium and Support
- oil on canvas
- Object Creation Date
- 1661
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Spain (nation)
- Andalusia (autonomous community)
- Seville (province)
- Seville (inhabited place)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Spain (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Andalusia (autonomous community)
- Creation Place 4
- Seville (province)
- Creation Place 5
- Seville (inhabited place)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Style/Group/Movement
- Baroque
- Inscription
- Inscribed l.r.: Jú de baldes Leal / Faciebat A 1661
- Period
- Europe, Baroque (1590-1750)
- Dimensions
- 108.2 cm x 79.3 cm (42 5/8 in. x 31 1/4 in.)
- Century
- 17th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- Biblical
- Secondary Object Classification
- Painting
- Secondary Object Type
- altarpiece
- Physical Description
- An angel, draped with a flowing red mantle, descends on the left from a bank of clouds. He holds a scepter and twisting scroll in his left hand while he points with his right toward a white dove encircled by a halo of light that descends toward a woman dressed in long robes and a veil. She sits, holding a book open on the lectern before her, and draws back slightly with her right hand raised and her eyes downcast. Six cherubim sit above on the edge of the cloudbank, which opens to reveal a male figure barely visible in the blinding light that fills the cloud.
- Subject Matter
- This painting, formerly part of an altarpiece, depicts the Annunciation, an episode recounted in the gospel of Luke in which the archangel Gabriel declared to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to Christ. Gabriel swoops toward Mary on the left from a dramatically lit cloudbank in which God sits engulfed in light. Mary, interrupted at her reading, looks downward with an expression of humility and submission while the white dove of the Holy Spirit descends toward her. The white lilies in the vase on the balustrade symbolize her purity, while the glass vase serves as a metaphor for how she became pregnant without sin. The animated poses of the figures, the dramatic tonal range of the painting, the passages of vivid color and the energetic brushwork combine to invigorate the scene with an exuberant theatricality.
- Secondary Keywords
- andalusia (autonomous community)
- animals and creatures
- associated concepts
- buildings and the land
- bulbs
- descriptors
- design elements
- europe (continent)
- figure- and animal-derived motifs
- geographic and political locations
- herbaceous plants
- landscapes (environments)
- legendary creatures
- motifs
- natural landscapes
- objects we use
- people and culture
- plants
- religions
- religions and religious concepts
- religious visual works
- settlements and landscapes
- seville (province)
- spain (nation)
- vegetation and vegetation components
- vegetation components
- visual works
- visual works by function
- woody plants
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 1834 x 2574
- File Size
- 208 KB
- Record
- 1962/1.99
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1962-sl-1.99/1962_1.99.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1962-SL-1.99:1962_1.99.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"The Annunciation; Juan de Valdés Leal." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1962-sl-1.99/1962_1.99.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 16, 2024.