Annunciation (Memling)

The Annunciation by Hans Memling is an Early Netherlandish oil-on-oak painting, partially transferred to canvas, measuring 30 1/8 x 21 1/2 in. (76.5 x 54.6 cm). It is held in the Robert Lehman collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York. Executed c. 1482 (or c. 1489), it depicts the Virgin in a domestic interior with two attendant angels at her side and archangel Gabriel, who is dressed in rich ecclesiastical robes.^[1] Based on the left wing of Rogier van der Weyden's Saint Columba Altarpiece, Memling goes beyond mere imitation. The Virgin in rendered in a highly unusual position in which she appears to be simultaneously kneeling and swooning. The swoon hearkens to the future and the Christ's death. The iconography is straightforward in the form of seemingly ordinary objects, which symbolize the Virgin's purity and light.

The painting's frame survived until the 19th century and was believed to be inscribed with a date of 1482. More recent research suggests the final number was misread and is a nine, making the execution date 1489. Generally scholars are inclined to believe the 1489 date to be more in keeping with Memling's style of the late 1480s.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "The Annunciation". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved April 19, 2015.

Sources

Ainsworth, Maryan Ainsworth. "Hans Memling". Maryan Ainsworth, et al. (eds.), From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998. ISBN 0-87099-870-6
Snyder, James (ed.). The Renaissance in the North. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. ISBN 0-87099-432-2

[Met-1] "The Annunciation". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved April 19, 2015.

[1]

v t e Hans Memling
Individual religious panels	Virgin and Child Enthroned with two Musical Angels, c. 1467 Scenes from the Passion of Christ, c. 1470 Adoration of the Magi, c. 1471 Mater Dolorosa, c. 1475 Madonna and Child with Angels, c. 1479 Allegory with a Virgin, c. 1479–1480 Advent and Triumph of Christ, c. 1480 Mater Dolorosa, c. 1480 Mystic Marriage of St Catherine, c. 1480 Angel Musicians, 1480s Pagagnotti Triptych, c. 1480 Christ Surrounded by Musician Angels, c. 1480s Annunciation, 1480s Adam and Eve, c. 1485 Bathsheba, c. 1485 Madonna and Child with Saint James and Saint Dominic, c. 1485
Polyptychs	Last Judgment, c. 1467–1471 Diptych of an elderly couple, c. 1470–1472 Diptych of Jean de Cellier, c. 1475 Jan Floreins Altarpiece, 1479 St John Altarpiece, 1479 Adoration of the Magi, c. 1479–1480 Adriaan Reins Altarpiece, 1480 Donne Triptych, c. 1480 Moreel Triptych, 1484 Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation, c. 1485 Benedetto Portinari Triptych, 1487 Diptych of Maarten van Nieuwenhove, 1487 St. Ursula Shrine, c. 1489 Christ Surrounded by Singing and Music-making Angels, c. 1483–1494
Portraits	Portrait of a Man in a Red Hat, c. 1465–1470 Portrait of a Man, c. 1470–1472 Portrait of Tommaso Portinari, c. 1470–1472 Portrait of Maria Portinari, c. 1470–1472 Portrait of an Elderly Man, c. 1470–1475 Portrait of an Elderly Woman, c. 1470–1475 Portrait of a Man with a Pink Carnation, 1475 Portrait of Benedetto Portinari, 1478 Portrait of Willem Morell, c. 1480 Portrait of a Man with a Roman Medal, c. 1480 Portrait of Barbara van Vlaendenbergh, c. 1480 Sibylla Sambetha, c. 1480 Portrait of Folco Portinari, c. 1490