The Annunciation

In the unusually wide landscape format of 80 × 35 cm, the encounter between the angel Gabriel and Mary unfolds not as a confined devotional image, but as a wide-ranging scene in which the garden, the architecture and the distant landscape are given almost as much prominence as the figures themselves. On the left, Gabriel kneels amongst flowers, a lily in his hand and his arm raised in greeting, whilst Mary sits on the right in front of a stone lectern, one hand resting on the open book, the other in a calm gesture before her breast; between them lies an open space that both separates and connects the message being conveyed. Dark cypress trees stand against a pale mountain backdrop; red and deep blue dominate the robes, and the even light allows even small plants and stone ornaments to stand out clearly. Leonardo da Vinci painted this early Renaissance work between 1472 and 1475; the historical original now hangs in the Uffizi in Florence, and even here we can see the precise observation of nature that prevents the landscape from becoming a mere backdrop.

In this version, Leonardo painted the motif directly onto the canvas - which has a satin finish - without glass, so that the light acts directly upon the picture surface: Viewed head-on, the dark sections of the garden remain deep and tranquil; from the side, however, a broad, soft reflection sweeps across the sky, the angel and the architecture, without coalescing into a harsh mirror image. The eye lingers on this shimmer just above Gabriel’s face and his raised hand; it shifts with the viewer’s perspective and allows the scene to brighten for a moment. Janine frames the picture like a golden decorative frame with areas rubbed red; along the raised edges, the gold glows faintly, whilst in the recesses it remains duller. It is not entirely uniform - and it is precisely this fragmented effect of light that is so compelling. Tactile depth is thus created not only on the satin-finished picture surface, but also through the interplay of the frame’s tiers, whose physical presence tangibly unifies the expansive, tranquil composition.