La Vierge de l'Annonciation

Bartolo di Fredi's Virgin of the Annunciation, now in the Musee du Petit Palais, depicts the moment when Mary receives the angel Gabriel's news of the Incarnation. This panel likely formed the right half of an Annunciation diptych or a wing of a larger polyptych. The Annunciation was one of the most frequently depicted subjects in Sienese Gothic painting, and Bartolo's treatment reflects the refined elegance and emotional subtlety that characterized the school's approach to this theme.

Tempera on gold-ground panel, with the Virgin rendered in the graceful, contemplative pose traditional in Sienese Annunciation imagery. Bartolo employs delicate modeling of the face and hands, flowing drapery in characteristic blue and red, and an ornately tooled gold background with decorative punch-work.