Artwork
Annunciation
Annunciation is an unspecified painting by the Mannerist artist El Greco. It dates from 1600 and is held in the collection of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1600, this canvas by El Greco portrays the biblical moment of the Annunciation. The work belongs to the Mannerist period and is part of the collection of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents the Virgin Mary seated on a yellow chair, dressed in a blue mantle over a red garment, holding a book, while the angel Gabriel, clad similarly, gestures toward her. The encounter captures the moment of divine announcement in a domestic interior.
Technique & Style
El Greco employs a pronounced chiaroscuro, using stark light and shadow to model forms. The checkered floor and the expansive arched doorway open the scene to an exterior courtyard, creating depth through linear perspective and vivid color contrasts typical of Mannerist aesthetics.
History & Provenance
Since its completion, the painting has remained within Spanish collections, eventually entering the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, where it is displayed as part of the museum’s holdings of early 17th‑century religious art.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Doménikos Theotokópoulos was born in 1541 in Candia (modern Heraklion), the capital of Venetian-ruled Crete, where he was trained in the post-Byzantine tradition of icon painting.
