The Annunciation
ca. 1731
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over traces of black chalk
Dimensions
10-1/4 x 7-3/4 in. (26 x 19.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1880
Accession Number
80.3.156
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate drawing *The Annunciation* (ca. 1731), Antonio Gionima captures one of Christianity's most revered moments: the angel Gabriel's divine announcement to the Virgin Mary she will conceive Jesus. Created on a modest sheet measuring 10-1/4 x 7-3/4 inches, this work exemplifies 18th-century devotional art, blending spiritual narrative with delicate draughtsmanship. Gionima, an artist active in the early Baroque-to-Rococo transition, the scene to evoke awe and humility through the poised figures of the angel and Mary, hallmarks of Annunciation iconography. Executed in pen and brown i...