1475
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Virgin of the Annunciation is a 1475 by Martin Schongauer, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see Mary kneeling at a wooden desk, her hands folded. An angel hovers above, wings spread, holding a lily. Light streams through a window behind them. This is half of a two-part print—buyers could buy just one or both. The lines are so fine they make hair curl and fabric fold like real cloth. Schongauer sold these like posters, hoping people would want the full story. Look up *sfumato* to see how later artists softened edges like this.
This engraving is half of a two-print scene depicting the Annunciation to the Virgin, when the angel Gabriel told Mary she would miraculously give birth to the Son of God. Presumably buyers could purchase the prints separately, although Schongauer probably hoped people would want to collect them both. His engraved lines masterfully emulate different natural qualities and textures, for example the spiraling locks of hair and the lily, a symbol of Mary’s purity.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Martin Schongauer, also known as Martin Schön or Hübsch Martin by his contemporaries, was an Alsatian engraver and painter.
See the richer artist page
