Artwork
The Annunciation
The Annunciation is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Léonard Gaultier. It dates from 1578 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:in plate in angel's banderole: AVE GRACIA PLENA
About this work
Overview
Leonard Gaultier, a French engraver active in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, produced an engraving titled The Annunciation around 1578. Executed entirely with a graver, the print belongs to the religious genre and illustrates the biblical moment when the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear the Son of God.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents three figures within an interior space. A kneeling woman, identified as the Virgin Mary, clasps her hands in prayer. At the centre stands a robed figure, likely the angel Gabriel, holding a book and enclosed within a delicately rendered glass cage.
To the right, a armored man gestures toward the central figure, adding a narrative tension to the scene.
Technique & Style
Gaultier’s linework is marked by precise, controlled incisions typical of the formal, somewhat rigid approach of the Wierix brothers and Crispyn van de Passe. The fine, intersecting lines that form the glass enclosure demonstrate his skill in rendering light and spatial depth through engraving, a medium that relies on the careful carving of lines to suggest texture and volume.
History & Provenance
Born in Mainz circa 1561, Gaultier worked primarily in Paris until his death in 1641. The Annunciation is one of his early prints, reflecting his practice of creating designs largely of his own invention. The work circulated among collectors of religious prints in the late Renaissance, though specific ownership records are scarce.
Context
The engraving aligns with the broader European tradition of devotional imagery that proliferated after the Council of Trent, when printed religious works were encouraged for personal contemplation. Gaultier’s adherence to a formal, detailed style situates him within the Northern European printmaking schools that emphasized meticulous craftsmanship.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Léonard Gaultier, or, as he sometimes signed himself, Galter, a French engraver, was born at Mainz about 1561, and died in Paris in 1641.
