The Annunciation / Mariano Salvador de Maella
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1967/1.37
- Title
- The Annunciation
- Artist
- Mariano Salvador de Maella
- Artist Nationality
- Spanish
- Artist Life Dates
- 1739-1819
- Medium and Support
- oil on canvas
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1780
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Spain (nation)
- Comunidad de Madrid (autonomous community)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Spain (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Comunidad de Madrid (autonomous community)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Style/Group/Movement
- Baroque
- Period
- Europe, Baroque (1590-1750)
- Dimensions
- 93.35 cm x 72.71 cm (36 3/4 in. x 28 5/8 in.)
- Century
- 18th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- narrative painting
- Physical Description
- In this painting, rendered entirely in gray monochrome, a technique known as grisaille, an angel descends on a bank of clouds toward a woman who kneels on the floor before a prie-dieu. She looks downward and turns away from the angel in a gesture of humility, and her head is illuminated by the light from a luminescent dove in the cloud above her. A bearded man looks down from the summit of the cloud, nearly engulfed in light, and a number of cherubim appear throughout the scene. The robust forms and grounded materiality of the woman's body and the furniture around her give way to light-filled clouds and diffused forms in the upper part of the canvas as the heavenly and worldly realms come together.
- Subject Matter
- This gray monochrome, or grisaille, painting represents the archangel Gabriel proclaiming to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to Christ, a theme known as the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38). The dove of the Holy Spirit appears above Mary's head and suffuses her with a subtle radiance as God the Father looks on from the clouds above. This painting was a preparatory study, probably for a much larger fresco painting for a palace or church that was either never finished or has been lost.
- Secondary Keywords
- animals and creatures
- associated concepts
- birds
- descriptors
- design elements
- figure- and animal-derived motifs
- furnishings
- furnishings by form or function
- furniture
- furniture by form or function
- legendary creatures
- motifs
- objects we use
- paintings
- paintings by material or technique
- people and culture
- religions
- religions and religious concepts
- seating furniture
- single seating furniture
- stools
- stools by function
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- 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
- 2381 x 3295
- File Size
- 436 KB
- Record
- 1967/1.37
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1967-sl-1.37/1967_1.37.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1967-SL-1.37:1967_1.37.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"The Annunciation; Mariano Salvador de Maella." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1967-sl-1.37/1967_1.37.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 02, 2024.