Artwork
St. Benedict - The Annunciation - A Kneeling Nun
St. Benedict - The Annunciation - A Kneeling Nun is an unspecified painting by Lorenzo Monaco. It dates from 1420 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting brings together three devotional elements: Saint Benedict, the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, and a kneeling nun.
The painting brings together three devotional elements: Saint Benedict, the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, and a kneeling nun. In the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel announces the Incarnation to Mary, conveying the revelation of grace, while the kneeling nun emphasizes humility and devotion within a monastic context. Saint Benedict, founder of Western monasticism, anchors the scene in the tradition of contemplative religious life.
The work belongs to the early Renaissance tradition of religious imagery, where saints and sacred events are portrayed in moments of spiritual encounter, reflecting the period's emphasis on personal piety and visual storytelling.
Iconographic details such as the habit of the nun and the presence of Benedict highlight the saint's role as a founder of monastic reform, linking the panel to broader narratives of contemplative life.
History & Provenance
The triptych panel titled St. Benedict - The Annunciation - A Kneeling Nun, dated to 1420, is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen. While the work is attributed to Lorenzo Monaco, the source also associates the creation with Lippo d'Andrea. The painting, which depicts religious figures including Benedict of Nursia, a nun, an angel, and Mary, remains part of the museum's permanent holdings.
No specific inventory or accession number is provided in the available records, nor is there documentation of a specific exhibition history for this piece.
Context
Modern scholarship situates this work within the early 15th-century Florentine devotional tradition, emphasizing its role in mediating contemplative practice through visual narrative. The panel's composition, pairing Benedict in humble prayer with an angelic Annunciation, reflects monastic interests in mystical vision and intercession, as discussed in studies of Lippo d'Andrea's workshop. Its stylistic analysis has also been aligned with Lorenzo Monaco's synthesis of Gothic devotional intensity and emerging Renaissance spatial clarity. The painting is held at the Statens Museum for Kunst.
Overview
Created around 1420, this tempera on panel by Lorenzo Monaco presents a compact devotional scene framed by an ornate gold border. The composition gathers four figures, a bearded elder, a winged angel, a young woman and a nun, set against a richly patterned backdrop that combines deep reds, blues and gold, emphasizing the painting’s liturgical function.
Technique & Style
Monaco employs the International Gothic palette, using luminous gold leaf and delicate tempera washes to achieve a flat yet radiant surface. The figures are rendered with elongated proportions and graceful drapery, characteristic of his late Gothic idiom. Attention to decorative detail, blue‑feathered wings, patterned curtains, and a red‑bound volume, creates a harmonious interplay of color and symbolism.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lorenzo Monaco was a Sienese painter and miniaturist of the late Gothic to early Renaissance age, active principally in Florence.
The Annunciation
The Annunciation
The Annunciation
The Annunciation
Scenes from the story of Tobias (marriage of Tobias and Sara; the archangel leaves Tobit and Anna)
Coronation of the Virgin
The Annunciation
Coronation of the Virgin
The Virgin Annunciate
Copy after the Annunciation, Fra Angelico in the Museo di San Marco (Florence)
The Annunciation- St. Benedict - The Annunciation - A Kneeling Nun