The Annunciation, Italian school of the 16th century

Antonio del Ceraiolo or 'the Ceraiolo (Active in Florence, second-fourth decade of the 16th century)
Attributable
The Annunciation

Oil on canvas

99 x 137 cm.
In a fine period box frame 121 x 163 cm.

The proposed superb Annunciation, most likely commissioned for private devotional use or perhaps for a church chapel, given its size, is a valuable work with an effective devotional intensity, capable of engaging and fascinating the viewer.

It presents itself with a rather well-established iconographic scheme, with the Archangel Gabriel on the right, of ethereal beauty, appearing with an imperious air as he delivers the supreme announcement to the Virgin Mary; suspended in flight above a cloud, with one hand he holds white lilies, symbol of purity and chastity, while the other points to the dove radiating with light, emblem of the Holy Spirit, surrounded by a halo of intense glow and play of light.

The work can be ascribed to the pictorial current of the early 16th century in Tuscany, an extraordinarily happy artistic period that saw a host of leading artistic personalities succeed one another, making Florence one of the most influential centres for painting of the time.

Carefully analysing the characteristics of style and composition, the canvas can be ascribed in our judgement to the catalogue of Antonio del Ceraiolo, active in Florence between 1520 and around 1538, of whom it shows the typical stylistic characteristics, the symmetry of the composition, the purity of the physiognomy and the particular devotionality.

Mentioned by Vasari as a painter of fine altarpieces, he was a pupil first of Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, and then of Lorenzo di Credi, both highly successful and esteemed painters in the first half of the 16th century, but he was greatly influenced by the culture of the San Marco school and the painting of Fra' Bartolomeo.

An emblem of Florentine Renaissance beauty, the structure of our Annunciation is based solely on the two sacred figures, where the total absence of spatial setting stands out, explicitly testifying to the simplified manner often adopted by Ceraiolo. The composure of the figures standing out sharply against the background is also reminiscent of the silhouettes of his figures, often arranged symmetrically opposite each other. We can mention by way of comparison the ''St. Catherine of Siena and Saints'' of 1515-20 (Santa Trinita, Florence, Imm.1), or the ''Madonna with Child and St. John'' (Christie's Auction, London, 30 November 1979, no. 52, Imm. 2) and also the ''Christ in the House of Martha and Mary of Bethany'' of 1524 (Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen, Berlin , Imm.3)

The Virgin wears a thin veil that encircles her hair as a sign of modesty in the work just mentioned, a blue mantle, the colour symbolising heaven and a reminder of her role as Queen of Heaven, and a red habit.

Finally, we can compare the particular technique used by the painter for the rendering of the faces and complexions, with the cheeks emphasised by an intense pinkish tinge taken up also on the nose that stands out from the pale complexion, with a Female Portrait, possibly a study (Private Collection, Holland, Imm.4) with the same soft smile on the lips.

Considering that the Annunciation was one of the most popular subjects in Florence at the time, the present composition can be compared with other similar subjects painted by our painter, such as the two works depicting respectively the Virgin and the Announcing Angel once in the Church of S. Caterina delle Ruote in Florence, c. 1524, now in the Accademia Museum in Cortona (Imm.5), and the Annunciation in the Museo di Palazzo Vecchio in Florence (Imm.6)

Good condition.
Fine 16th century Tuscan cassette frame, lacquered in black with typically Renaissance gold decoration.