MASTER of the Aix Annunciation
(active in 1440s)

Annunciation

c. 1445
Oil on wood, 155 x 176 cm
Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, Aix-en-Provence

The effect of the altarpiece on the northern wall of this church is liable to bring spectators to a sudden stop. They will find themselves looking into the interior of a monumental Gothic church, painted in masterly perspective. Their glance will follow the long row of columns disappearing into the distance of the nave until it reaches the small figures at the very end. The capitals of the columns are splendidly carved; upon two of them stand statues of prophets below small canopies. The small figures stand out in gay colours against the grey tones of the architecture. The Virgin kneels before a Gothic lectern, her red velvet robe almost concealed by the spreading folds of a mantle of gold brocade; the purple dalmatic of the angel of the Annunciation is edged with a border adorned with figures. On the balcony of the church vestibule God the Father appears, accompanied by two angels, radiating a beam of light on to Mary.