The Annunciation
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 5/8 × 6 5/8 in. (24.5 × 16.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1927
Accession Number
27.54.19
Tags
Art Historical Context
Lucas Cranach the Elder, a leading figure of the Northern Renaissance in Germany, created this woodcut of *Theunciation*. The scene captures the pivotal biblical moment when the angel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she will bear the son of God. Cranach’s distinctive style combines graceful figures with expressive linework, reflecting the period’s interest in both religious devotion and humanistic detail. As a woodcut print measuring just under ten inches tall, the work exemplifies how this medium allowed religious imagery to reach a broad audience beyond the walls of churches or we...
About the Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder · 1472–1553
Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472-1553) was one of the most prominent German Renaissance painters and a key artistic figure of the Protestant Reformation. Born in Kronach, Franconia, to the painter Hans Maler, Cranach began his career in Vienna around 1502, where he became one of the founders of the Danube School, a movement characterized by expressive landscape painting and emotional force. His ea...