Artwork
The Annunciation with Saint Francis and Saint Louis of Toulouse [four panels]
![The Annunciation with Saint Francis and Saint Louis of Toulouse [four panels], by Cosimo Tura, tempera, 1475](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/cosimo-tura--the-annunciation-with-saint-francis-and-saint-louis-of-toulo--b6fe2fe99644e8d8-w1024.webp)
The Annunciation with Saint Francis and Saint Louis of Toulouse [four panels] is a tempera painting by the Early Renaissance artist Cosimo Tura. It dates from 1475 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Cosmè Tura's The Annunciation with Saint Francis and Saint Louis of Toulouse is a multi-panel painting executed around 1475.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work depicts the Annunciation flanked by two Franciscan saints, Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Louis of Toulouse, within a unified four-panel format.
The work depicts the Annunciation flanked by two Franciscan saints, Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Louis of Toulouse, within a unified four-panel format. The central scene follows the traditional iconography of the Annunciation: the archangel Gabriel kneels before the Virgin Mary, who receives the divine message with folded hands and lowered gaze, while a radiant dove representing the Holy Spirit hovers between them. Saint Francis, identifiable by his stigmata and brown habit, kneels in prayer at left, while Saint Louis of Toulouse, clad in episcopal vestments and a mitre, occupies the right panel.
The inclusion of these two Franciscan saints suggests a devotional emphasis on their respective roles, Francis as founder of the Franciscan order and Louis as a Franciscan bishop, linking the moment of divine revelation with Franciscan spirituality and intercession.
Technique & Style
The four panels are executed in tempera on poplar support, a medium typical of fifteenth-century Ferrarese practice. The paint layers combine egg tempera with distemper, a mixture that yields a matte, luminous surface suited to the crisp modeling of figures and the delicate rendering of textiles and brocades. Handling shows Tura’s signature precision in linear definition and attenuated forms, with sharply angled drapery folds and jewel-like color accents that articulate the sacred narrative.
The composition’s formal qualities emphasize verticality and hieratic arrangement, aligning the angel and Virgin along an implied axis that directs attention to the central event. Architectonic elements, such as the patterned pavement and perspectival coffering, anchor the scene in a constructed space, while the attenuated proportions and delicate features of the saints reflect the refined Gothic-inflected style cultivated in the Este court.
History & Provenance
The four panels were painted by Cosmè Tura around 1475.
They entered the Cook family collection by 1888 at Doughty House, Richmond, Surrey, when Sir Francis Cook, 1st baronet, owned them. After successive inheritances, first to his son Sir Frederick Lucas Cook in 1901, then to Sir Herbert Frederick Cook in 1920, and next to Sir Francis Ferdinand Maurice Cook in 1939, the panels were sold in February 1947 by the Cook estate through Francis A. Drey, London, to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. In 1952 the foundation donated the work to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The four panels are held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. They entered the Kress Foundation in February 1947 through the London dealer Francis A. Drey, who had acquired them from the estate of Sir Herbert Cook, 3rd Bt., and were given to the NGA in 1952. The panels had passed by inheritance through four generations of the Cook family at Doughty House, Richmond, Surrey (and later also at Cothay Manor, Somerset), from Sir Francis Cook, 1st Bt., who owned them by 1888, through the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th baronets.
No exhibition history beyond the Cook family ownership and the 1947 Kress acquisition is recorded in the available sources.
Overview
Cosmè Tura's The Annunciation with Saint Francis and Saint Louis of Toulouse is a multi-panel painting executed around 1475. Rendered in tempera and distemper on wood, this work presents four distinct figures arranged side-by-side. Each panel is individually bordered in gold, creating a unified yet segmented composition.
The artwork combines a central religious narrative with the presence of venerated saints, characteristic of devotional art from the late 15th century.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Cosmè Tura (Italian pronunciation:; c. 1430 – 1495), also known as Il Cosmè or Cosimo Tura, was an Italian early-Renaissance (or Quattrocento) painter and considered one of the founders of the School of Ferrara. He…
![Saint Francis [far left panel], by Cosimo Tura](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/cosimo-tura--saint-francis-far-left-panel--3b890eb4471ebc8a-w320.webp)
![The Virgin Annunciate [middle right panel], by Cosimo Tura](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/cosimo-tura--the-virgin-annunciate-middle-right-panel--9eeab22c5567995d-w320.webp)
![The Archangel Gabriel [middle left panel], by Cosimo Tura](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/cosimo-tura--the-archangel-gabriel-middle-left-panel--c900f72d54477be2-w320.webp)
- Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Barbara, Agatha, and Margaret
The Annunciation to Mary (Diptych)
Madonna and Child with Angels and Saints
Saints Apollonia, Lucy and Barbara and another Holy Martyr
The Annunciation, Saints Anthony Abate, John the Baptist
Virgin and Child Enthroned between Saints Cecilia and Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Michael; The Mass of Saint Gregory; Saint Jerome
Madonna and Child with Saints Philip and Agnes
The Annunciation
Mary Magdalen
The Expectant Madonna with Saint Joseph