The Annunciation
117 x 173 cm; tempera on wood (FC 668)
The main feature of this Annunciation by the Florentine Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi is the very bright lighting, with the hands of God the Father emerging from the clouds to release the dove of the Holy Spirit. The dove descends along a luminous line running toward the Virgin’s shoulder, transmitting Divine Will through materialized light. Here the Angel comes from the right, rather than the left as is more common with this subject. The architectural setting, which plays on the angles of the faux marble floor, and on the solid perspective of the spatial grid, recalls aspects of Florentine culture centred on Euclidean geometry. Another point that stands out is the accentuation of outlines. The precious panel is in excellent condition, executed by the artist between 1445 and 1450. It entered the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in the mid-19th century.
