Artwork
Annunciation
Annunciation is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Benvenuto Tisi. It dates from 1528 and is held in the collection of the Capitoline Museums.
About this work
Overview
Benvenuto Tisi’s oil on canvas, titled Annunciation, dates from 1528 and is part of the collection of Rome’s Capitoline Museums. The composition presents a domestic interior framed by stone columns, where two female figures occupy the foreground while an angel hovers above, holding a cross. The scene is illuminated by a muted light that accentuates the solemn atmosphere of the biblical moment.
Subject & Meaning
To her left, an angelic figure with wings, dressed in red and black, sits holding a sprig of white flowers, symbolising purity.
The work depicts the biblical Annunciation, with the Virgin Mary kneeling on the right, clothed in red and blue, a book in her hands and her gaze lowered in contemplation. To her left, an angelic figure with wings, dressed in red and black, sits holding a sprig of white flowers, symbolising purity. The hovering angel above, bearing a cross, reinforces the theological significance of Christ’s incarnation.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, Tisi employs a restrained palette of reds, blues, and muted earth tones, allowing the figures to emerge from the darkened interior. The handling of light creates subtle chiaroscuro, modeling the forms and giving depth to the stone columns and the background fireplace. The brushwork is smooth, characteristic of the Lombard tradition, while the composition balances vertical and horizontal elements.
History & Provenance
Created in 1528, the painting entered the Capitoline Museums’ holdings at an early date, though precise acquisition records are scarce. Its presence in the museum’s collection reflects the institution’s long‑standing commitment to preserving works of the Italian Renaissance, particularly those by lesser‑known artists such as Tisi, a pupil of the Ferrarese school.
Context
Benvenuto Tisi, also known as Il Garofalo, worked in the early sixteenth‑century Ferrarese circle, absorbing influences from Raphael and the Venetian colorists. The Annunciation aligns with contemporary devotional imagery, integrating a domestic setting that makes the sacred event approachable to viewers. The inclusion of symbolic elements—book, flowers, cross—mirrors the iconographic conventions of the period.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Benvenuto Tisi (Italian: ; 1481 – September 6, 1559), also known as Il Garofalo (Italian: ), was a Late-Renaissance-Mannerist Italian painter of the School of Ferrara.
