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The Annunciation

Joos van Cleve Netherlandish
ca. 1525
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 636
Gabriel and Mary are presented within an elaborately furnished interior that would have been familiar to sixteenth-century viewers. However, most of the objects, arranged unobtrusively within the room, carry symbolic meaning. The altarpiece and the woodcut on the wall, for example, show Old Testament prophets as prefigurations of New Testament themes. Influenced by Italian art, Joos introduced a new canon of beauty and repertory of rhetorical gestures, as well as a striking grace of movement in his figures.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Annunciation
  • Artist: Joos van Cleve (Netherlandish, Cleve ca. 1485–1540/41 Antwerp)
  • Date: ca. 1525
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: 34 x 31 1/2 in. (86.4 x 80 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
  • Object Number: 32.100.60
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Virgin and Child, Joos van Cleve and a collaborator Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Virgin and Child
Joos van Cleve
ca. 1525
The Crucifixion with Saints and a Donor, Joos van Cleve and a collaborator Netherlandish, Oil on wood
The Crucifixion with Saints and a Donor
Joos van Cleve
ca. 1520
The Holy Family, Joos van Cleve Netherlandish, Oil on oak panel, Netherlandish
The Holy Family
Joos van Cleve
possibly 1527–33
The Last Judgment, Joos van Cleve Netherlandish, Oil on wood
The Last Judgment
Joos van Cleve
ca. 1525–30
Francis I (1494–1547), King of France, Joos van Cleve Netherlandish, Oil on canvas, transferred from wood
Francis I (1494–1547), King of France
Joos van Cleve

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