Annunciation in an Initial M
The initial M illustrates an antiphon for the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25): Missus est Gabriel Angelus ad Mariam Virginem ("The Angel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary").
In this initial, the illuminator used the form of the letter M to divide and frame the figures of the Virgin and the angel Gabriel, kneeling before her. The wood floor, rendered with a spiraling grain pattern, suggests that the setting is a domestic interior. This cutting may be an early work by the anonymous painter and illuminator known as the Maestro Daddesco, who was either a contemporary or a follower of the Florentine artist Bernardo Daddi and was a major figure in Florentine illumination during the first half of the fourteenth century.
In this initial, the illuminator used the form of the letter M to divide and frame the figures of the Virgin and the angel Gabriel, kneeling before her. The wood floor, rendered with a spiraling grain pattern, suggests that the setting is a domestic interior. This cutting may be an early work by the anonymous painter and illuminator known as the Maestro Daddesco, who was either a contemporary or a follower of the Florentine artist Bernardo Daddi and was a major figure in Florentine illumination during the first half of the fourteenth century.
Artwork Details
- Title: Annunciation in an Initial M
- Artist: Maestro Daddesco (Italian, Florence, active ca. 1320–40) (?)
- Date: ca. 1310–15
- Medium: Tempera and gold on parchment
- Dimensions: 5 3/8 x 5 1/4 in. (13.6 x 13.4cm)
Stave: 1 5/16 in. (3.4cm) - Classification: Manuscripts and Illuminations
- Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
1975.1.2478 - Object Number: 1975.1.2478
- Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection
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Maestro Daddesco
Bernardo Daddi
ca. 1320–40
Ugolino da Siena (Ugolino di Nerio)
ca. 1325–30
Bartolo di Fredi
ca. 1390
Simone Martini
ca. 1326
Simone Martini
ca. 1326
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