About this artwork
El Greco painted this Annunciation around 1600, in Toledo. He was about 59, the leading painter in Toledo, and he had been painting religious subjects for 30 years. This painting is one of several versions of the Annunciation that he produced in the 1590s and 1600s, all showing the same scene with variations in composition and color.
The Archangel Gabriel stands at the left, his body elongated, his robes swirling around him in a flame of yellow and orange. He raises his right hand in a gesture of speech, addressing the Virgin Mary, who stands at the right. Mary is in a red robe and blue mantle, her body turned slightly toward the angel, her hands raised in surprise. Above them, a burst of light breaks through the ceiling, and small angels hover in the opening. The background is a dark interior, with the floor and the walls barely visible.
The Annunciation is the moment when the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear the son of God. It is one of the most painted subjects in Christian art, and El Greco painted it many times. His versions are unlike anyone else's: the figures are elongated, the colors are intense, and the composition is filled with a sense of spiritual energy. The angel does not kneel, as in most Annunciations, but stands upright, his body twisting as if moved by the wind. Mary does not sit or read, as in most versions, but stands and raises her hands in astonishment.
El Greco was born Domenikos Theotokopoulos in Crete in 1541. He trained as an icon painter in the Byzantine tradition, then moved to Venice in 1567 and studied under Titian. He moved to Rome in 1570 and then to Toledo in 1577, where he spent the rest of his life. His work combines the elongated figures and gold backgrounds of Byzantine icons with the rich color of Venetian painting and the emotional intensity of Spanish Catholicism. His style was unique in his own time and was not fully appreciated until the 20th century, when painters like Picasso and the Expressionists rediscovered him.
Oil on canvas, 114 by 67 centimeters, roughly 45 by 26 inches. El Greco painted with a loose, fluid brushwork, building the figures in long, curving strokes of color. The angel's robes are painted in thick strokes of yellow and orange, their forms dissolving into flame-like shapes. The faces are elongated, with the eyes large and the features sharp. The light from above is rendered in thin glazes of white and yellow, creating a glow that fills the upper part of the painting.
The vertical format and religious subject make this print work well in a living room, study, or hallway with traditional furniture. The intense colors and elongated figures suit a room with neutral walls. A gold frame is traditional for El Greco. The 11x14 or 12x16 size gives the angel and the Virgin enough detail to appreciate up close.
The painting is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
This is a public domain artwork. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 18x24 inches, framed or unframed. The image is printed at full resolution with no cropping.
