Half-bust Of A Virgin Of The Annunciation - Italy - End Of The 15th Century

This half-bust in Istrian stone from the end of the 15th century represents a Virgin of the Annunciation. Cut at waist level, the Virgin rests on a sculpted base. She is represented young, with fine and soft features, her head tilted to her left. His gaze, accentuated by the presence of pupils in his eyes, seems distant. She wears a veil revealing her wavy hair, held by a button at her neck. His right hand is placed on his chest while his left is holding a book. His right arm holds a piece of his clothing, which protrudes slightly. Virgo already seems pregnant. Made from Istrian stone, the half-bust must have been part of an altar piece, or a tomb. Istrian stone is a material close to marble, often considered a variant of it. It comes from the town of Istria in Croatia and was extensively imported to Venice from the 12th century, notably used in the construction of numerous Venetian buildings, such as the Bridge of Sighs. The Annunciation is an episode recounted in the Gospel according to Saint Luke, chapter I, 26-38, in which the archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary her divine pregnancy. In Art, the Annunciation is translated by the presence of Mary, the archangel Gabriel, and sometimes God or the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. It is from the 12th century, in Western art, that Mary is represented reading a work. It is possible to compare this bust to a statue of a Venetian Virgin of the Annunciation, kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London dated 1440 1460, and whose attribution oscillates between Giorgio da Sebenico, Antonio di Bregno and Bartolomeo Buon. The position of the Virgin's right hand, the presence of the book, the veil letting some hair escape, the button holding the veil and the slightly tilted head, are clues which lead us to believe that the half-bust was made by a Venetian sculptor, gravitating around the circle of Bartolomeo Buon, from the second half of the 15th century. The solemn and gentle gaze of the Virgin gives the work a deep intensity, moving the viewer and restoring to the Virgin her humanity, at the moment of the announcement of divine motherhood.