Annunciation

In 1509 Pope Julius II commissioned Donato Bramante to construct a rectangular structure within the basilica of Santa Maria to enclose the Santa Casa (Holy House).

The sculpture of the Holy House comprises in all twenty figures in niches and nine exceptionally large marble panels carved in a horizontal format in high relief depicting scenes from the Life of the Virgin.

The nine marble reliefs seem to have been begun before Bramante's death (1514) and are conceived in a single style. Two of the reliefs, the Adoration of the Shepherds (#1) and the Annunciation (#2), were carved by Andrea Sansovino between 1518 and 1523. The Marriage of the Virgin (#3) was begun by Sansovino and completed by Tribolo. The Birth of the Virgin (#4) was begun by Baccio Bandinelli (1518-19) and completed by Raffaello da Montelupo (1533). The Adoration of the Magi (#5) by Raffaello da Montelupo dates from the period when he and Baccio Bandinelli worked on the Birth of the Virgin. In 1533 Tribolo and Francesco da Sangallo collaborated on the Translation of the Holy House of Nazareth (#6). In the same year Montelupo completed his Visitation (#7) and Sangallo added the relief of Mary and Joseph Completing the Census (#8). The last narrative, the Dormition of the Virgin (#9) was finished by Sangallo in 1536.

In 1512 Andrea Sansovino was summoned by Pope Leo X to Loreto to direct the work there on the Santa Casa. In c. 1522, the artist carved the Annunciation placed on the sanctuary wall. Despite its complexity, the relief's composition remains clear. In cleverly designed progression, Gabriel emerges from the circling and descending group of flying angels and moves towards the Madonna, in an elaborate architectural setting. Sansovino is especially famous for his refined and essentially pictorial style, which exerted a great influence in Florence.