The Annunciation, from "The Small Passion"
Original title: The Annunciation, from "The Small Passion"
kurzbeschreibung
Albrecht Dürer’s woodcut 'The Annunciation' belongs to his series 'The Small Passion' and was made around 1510. It shows the archangel Gabriel announcing the birth of Christ to Mary. The print measures 12.7 x 9.8 cm.
Description
Mary kneels in the middle, hands folded in prayer, wearing a long robe with a cross on her breast. Opposite her, on the left, stands Gabriel with wings spread wide and one hand raised in an explanatory gesture. Behind Mary, a door and a window open, letting in bright light. A bird, likely a dove as a sign of the Holy Spirit, can be seen. In the upper left, a figure looks up to the sky from a boat.
Context
Between 1508 and 1510, Dürer worked in Nuremberg on the woodcut series 'The Small Passion'. It consists of 37 sheets and served as a devotional image for a broad audience. Within the series, 'The Annunciation' takes fifth place and follows the account of the Gospel of Luke. Dürer shaped the woodcut into an independent artistic genre with nuanced line work.
Impact
The symmetrical opposition of Mary and the angel gives the image a calm balance. Incoming light and precise line work create a devout, spiritual atmosphere. The many details encourage a longer look at the print.
Technique
Dürer achieves the gradations of light and shadow entirely through the varying density and direction of his carved lines: fine, closely spaced hatching models the folds of Mary's robe and the angel's wings, while sparser strokes leave the lighter passages open. The radiant light falling through the window is rendered not as a flat white area but as a deliberate contrast to the surrounding linework, so that illumination and darkness emerge from the rhythm of the cuts themselves.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)