The Annunciation Template

Fra Angelico   |   c. 1440   |   San Marco, Florence

I've been studying books of Renaissance art lately and I've noticed that the angel depicted in the Annunciation goes through an evolution that becomes increasingly stylized. That shouldn't be too surprising, since the artists shown in this posting either taught each other or competed with each other. In any event, they were setting standards for each other. It's interesting to see a progression in the rendering of the angel, and that it finally settles on an iconic pose and gesture.

We begin with Fra Angelico's angel. Fra Angelico painted the Annunciation numerous times, and while his angels did not kneel, they bowed before the Virgin. The angel above, painted in Fra Angelico's own monastery, comes closest to kneeling, with what might be interpreted as a curtsy.

Filippo Lippi   |   c. 1440   |   Martelli Chapel   |   San Lorenzo, Florence

Filippo Lippi's angel was painted around the same time as Fra Angelico's. The rich detail, and especially the folds of cloth, make Filippo Lippi's work seem much later. Filippo Lippi has his angel kneeling and holding a lily, the symbol of purity.

Leonardo da Vinci   |   1475   |   The Uffizi   |   Florence

Leonardo painted his Annunciation angel when he was 20 or 21. Now the angel kneels, carries a lily, and makes the gesture of a blessing. So far, all of the angels have been wearing red garments. Red was a favored color in altarpieces, in part because the pigment was more expensive; it was literally a richer color, worthier of holy subjects.

 

The youthful Leonardo sets himself apart by representing the halo as an actual burst of light, rather than a static plate of gold.

Domenico Ghirlandaio | 1482 | Cloister of the Collegiata | San Gimignano

Ghirlandaio — who is credited with being a teacher to Michelangelo — painted this Annunciation angel, which follows the pattern of holding a lily, kneeling and blessing.

Pinturicchio | 1479-85 | Baglioni Chapel, Santa Maria Maggoire | Spello

Pinturicchio's angel follows the pose, lily and gesture ...

Sandro Botticelli   |   1490   |   The Uffizi   |   Florence

... as does Bottecelli's angel, which now seems to both kneel and bow.

I find the progression interesting. Did the pose become a standard because it was seen as more aesthetic? Did it better please religious clients? Or perhaps these artists recognized that the pose contributed to a stronger composition. Notice that each one of these angels takes the shape of a triangle that leads the eye towards the space occupied by the Virgin. We can dwell on the folds of cloth, but which artists have most successfully lead the eye to the right through strong body movement and gesture? Leonardo and Bottecelli.

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Botticelli's Master

Sandro Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510), whom the great biographer Giorgio Vasari referred to as "Botticello," attained a style we've come to recognize as all his own. But that's a disservice to his teacher, Fra Filippo Lippi (1406-1469), who is now less well remembered.

Botticelli was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi while still a restless young boy. Fra Filippo Lippi became very fond of his apprentice because Sandro threw himself into learning and imitated the master closely. And if we make some comparisons, we can see that works by the mature Botticelli retain the influence of his master.

Above are two Madonnas, on the left by Fra Filippo Lippi, and on the right by Botticelli. A trademark of both artists is that they tended to define flesh in soft gradations, somewhat denying skeletal underpinnings. Features were often outlined, and we can see that especially in their treatment of hands.

At the top are hands by Fra Filippo Lippo, and below are hands by Botticelli. You're not very conscious of knuckles in these, and you'll notice that both artists extended the length of the fingers. Such lengthened features made Botticelli's women particularly graceful, and it's no mistake that when we think of Botticelli, we are bound to think of Venus rising from the water.

Botticelli is also remembered for his exquisite delineation of hair, and here again, one has only to look to his master to see the influence. On the left, hair by Fra Filippo Lippi, and on the right, by Botticelli.

Botticelli of course established his own studio, and went on to work for Pope Sixtus IV and the great Lorenzo de Medici. If we look at what I would consider to be Fra Filippo Lippi's masterpiece, The Adoration of the Magi, it looks quite different from anything by his pupil.

Click to enlarge

And yet if one looks at La Primavera, Botticelli's famous painting of love and spring, one still sees the influence of Fra Filippo Lippi in the tapestry-like painting of the flora.

According to Vasari, Botticelli was generous to other artists, and was famous for his practical jokes. Unfortunately, he became a follower of the priest Girolamo Savonarola, and according to Vasari, even destroyed some of his own work in the infamous Bonfire of the Vanities. Botticelli, having given up painting, died destitute.