LOTTO, Lorenzo
(b. ca. 1480, Venezia, d. 1556, Loreto)

Annunciation (detail)

1534-35
Oil on canvas
Pinacoteca Civica, Recanati

This odd and unusual Annunciation scene takes place in Mary's chamber, represented with fidelity to detail yet lighted in surprising way, even from below. Mary has been reading at a prie-dieu when God the Father burst in from the loggia. She turn toward us and opens her hands in wonder. A cat scurries away in terror, casting a shadow on the floor, as does the rushing angel.