DUCCIO di Buoninsegna
(b. ca. 1255, Siena, d. 1319, Siena)

Annunciation (scene 1)

1308-11
Tempera on wood, 45 x 46 cm
National Gallery, London

The episode of the Annunciation, told only by Luke, is set in vividly articulated architectural surroundings, where consistency of line and colour lend harmonic energy to the whole. Gabriel is portrayed in movement, in the act of greeting (his hand and right foot are the opposite ends of a perfect diagonal), while Mary appears to be drawing back. She is illuminated by the ray of the Holy Spirit, in the form of a small white dove, penetrating from a cusped arch. The unreal perspective of the vase of lilies, reminiscent of Oriental art, has often been noted.