The Annunciation
Completed by 1457
Medium
Oil on panel, transferred to canvas
Dimensions
Panel: 93.3 × 65.8 cm (36 3/4 × 25 7/8 in.)
Classification
oil on panel
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
16333
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The Annunciation was one of eight scenes from the life of the Virgin decorating the inside of the wings of Johann Koerbecke’s masterpiece, the altarpiece formerly on the high altar of the Cistercian abbey of Marienfeld, near Münster in northwest Germany. The wings framed the altarpiece’s center, where relics and a gilded statue of the Virgin and Child were displayed when the altarpiece was opened on feast days. The gilded backgrounds and festive architecture of the wings enhanced the splendor of...