1538
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Annunciation is a 1538 ink by Virgil Solis, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This drawing shows an angel with wings hovering over a woman who’s kneeling. The angel holds a staff and seems to be speaking to her, while the woman looks up with her hands clasped. The background has a simple curtain and a few small details like a vase and a candle on the floor. The artist used fine lines and shading to create depth, focusing on the figures’ expressions and movement. Notice how the angel’s wings and the woman’s robes are drawn with quick, precise strokes. Look up cross-hatching next to see how artists build shadows with layers of lines.
Virgil Solis or Virgilius Solis (1514 – 1 August 1562), a member of a prolific family of artists, was a German draughtsman and printmaker in engraving, etching and woodcut who worked in his native city of Nuremberg.
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