The Annunciation by Sebastiano Mazzoni

The Annunciation by Sebastiano Mazzoni

The “Annunciation” by Sebastiano Mazzoni impresses with an unusual interpretation and composition of the gospel plot. Most of it is occupied by the figure of the Archangel Gabriel, with the Virgin Mary wearing the news of the imminent miracle, the immaculate conception and the birth of the divine Infant by her. And although in the gentle hand of the archangel a lily flower, a symbol of purity, it is still possible to understand the young Mary, who abruptly recoiled.

The artist gives her almost perfect beauty, puts on the traditional Madonna iconography red-blue clothes, but the impetuous movement of the Virgin seems to be the result of a reaction not so much to the message as to the sudden and rapid descent of the archangel. This tumultuous dynamic is underscored by the flexing knees of Gabriel, as if slowing down the speed, hovering with his hands, but above all with the tornado-like vortex of his clothes.

Mazzoni was born and worked in Florence, then moved to Venice, where he lived until his death, creating also as an architect. Picturesque altar compositions reveal his special skill to transfer deformations in perspective and mystical flashes of light, however, softened by color overflows.

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