The Annunciation

Mariotto Albertinelli painted this Annunciation in 1508, during the period of his productive partnership with Fra Bartolomeo in Florence. The Annunciation was a subject that allowed Albertinelli to display his command of balanced composition and warm coloring. His treatment reflects the harmonious classicism shared with his monastic collaborator. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique. Such devotional panels served both liturgical contexts in churches and chapels and private devotional use in the homes of wealthy families who maintained personal altars and oratories.

Oil on panel with Albertinelli's warm Florentine palette and balanced spatial arrangement. The traditional Annunciation composition is rendered with the soft modeling and graceful proportions of the High Renaissance Florentine style.