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The Virgin Annunciate

Statuette
ca. 1440-1460 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

No one knows exactly where this relief came from. It was probably part of a group in a tabernacle (a small niche) or of an altarpiece showing the Annunciation. This is the name used to describe how the angel Gabriel 'announced' to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to Jesus.
The relief belongs to a small group of alabaster sculptures that were probably made around 1440-1460 in the Southern Netherlands. A sculptor known only as the Rimini Master and his workshop had produced alabaster sculptures in the same region in the years around 1430. The sculptors who carved this later group developed the style of the Rimini Master and added new features. They used a softer style to carve the draperies and made the faces look more natural and realistic.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Virgin Annunciate (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved alabaster
Brief description
Statuette, the Virgin Annunciate, carved alabaster, showing the Virgin Annunciate, Southern Netherlands, ca. 1440-1460
Physical description
The Virgin knees before an elaborate draped prie-dieu, with a small tree behind, her hands joined in prayer. Her head is inclined at an angle, looking over her left shoulder, indicating that the Angel of the Annunciation originally approached from the right.
Dimensions
  • Height: 49.5cm
  • Width: 41cm
  • Depth: 18cm
Subjects depicted
Summary
No one knows exactly where this relief came from. It was probably part of a group in a tabernacle (a small niche) or of an altarpiece showing the Annunciation. This is the name used to describe how the angel Gabriel 'announced' to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to Jesus.
The relief belongs to a small group of alabaster sculptures that were probably made around 1440-1460 in the Southern Netherlands. A sculptor known only as the Rimini Master and his workshop had produced alabaster sculptures in the same region in the years around 1430. The sculptors who carved this later group developed the style of the Rimini Master and added new features. They used a softer style to carve the draperies and made the faces look more natural and realistic.
Bibliographic references
  • Williamson, Paul, Netherlandish Sculpture 1450-1550, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002. 160p., ill. ISBN 1851773738.
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861 In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 19
  • Trusted, Marjorie, ed. The Making of Sculpture. The Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: 2007, p. 107, pl. 186
  • Debaene, Marjan (ed.). Alabaster Sculpture in Europe 1300-1650. London/Turnhout: Harvey Miller/Brepols, 2022, p. 194, cat. no 63 (Stefan Roller)
Collection
Accession number
6970-1861

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Record createdDecember 6, 2002
Record URL
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