Curatorial Notes
The scene of the Annunciation to Mary that she will give birth to Christ is depicted here as a contemporary scene that may have been familiar to any viewer at the end of the 1400s. Mary is portrayed as an ordinary but wealthy woman who is interrupted by the Archangel Gabriel as she reads a book of hours. This type of book was enormously popular in the late Middle Ages as a prayer and devotional book, particularly among the wealthy, literate nobility, and city aristocracy.
Artwork Identification
Title The Annunciation
Title (PT) A Anunciação
Title (ES) La Anunciación
Artist Albert Bouts
Artist Bio Albert Bouts (Netherlandish, 1451/55–1549)
Date c. 1480
Work Type Painting
Location & Collection
Institution Cleveland Museum of Art
Source View Museum Page
License Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0
