Annunciation

The key scene of Marian iconography, the Annunciation, was treated many a time by the medieval painters. Some compositions achieved such renown and popularity that they were further copied and varied. This current practice can also be seen in this small panel of Annunciation. The composition of the scene is probably based on Netherlandish models, albeit mediated by different means, for it loosely and with considerable simplification modifies the composition of the same theme by Robert Campin (Master of Flémalle). Bohemian origin can be recognized in the types of faces, which come close to South Bohemian works of art from around 1450, the arrangement of the draperies testifies to a later date, though. Suggested by some scholars, the possibility of the import of this work cannot be definitely excluded. These hypotheses are also supported by some technological differences, one of them being the use of red underdrawing, which by then had no longer been employed in most Bohemian panel paintings.