Francisco de Zurbaran's 'The Annunciation'

The formation of the painting is very aesthetically pleasing. Unlike some monuments, the figures and their environment are all proportional to each other, again, stressing the naturalistic representation of the painting. The religious impact of the subject matter is very strongly achieved, partly due to this fact. Starting from the top of the painting, one sees the many young angels resting on their heavenly cloud. The background light radiates from off in the distance, and gives the on looking crowd a heavenly aura. Although the light is so powerful, the source is not completely defined, and just seems to exist. The faces of the baby angels all express a sense of happiness, as if they are approving of the newly discovered pregnancy of the Virgin Mary. Again, the ligh

t emphasizes their unanimous joy. Something that is not so apparent is the dove of the Holy Spirit found in the midst of the clouds - another heavenly figure present for this occasion.

The painting at first glance seems to be in almost perfect condition. The only noticeable ware can be found on the frame of the picture on the ageing wood. The colors Zurbaran used are quite vibrant and seem to stand out of the page with their clarity. Although the painting is well maintained, it is not perfect. While the colors are bright and defining, there are some faded areas of paint that are somewhat hard to see. Around the outer edges on the right and left side of the canvas, the paint seems dull, and is almost fading. Oddly enough, there is no such corrosion on the top or bottom of the painting. Perhaps this could be due to people handling the painting during the hanging process. There are also some fading parts around Gabriel’s robe and the edge of the door. Also, when you look closely at the figures, there is an ever so faint line above Mary’s head that extends upwards towards the angels. Moving towards Gabriel, there seem to be relatively deep impr

Some topics in this essay:
Mary Gabriel, Zurbarans Annunciation, Holy Spirit, Similarly Mary, Virgin Mary, Art Francisco, virgin mary, , painting angels resting, angels resting, painting angels, angel gabriel, painting due, main figures, heavenly cloud,