A Style Borne of Necessity

Gentile da Fabriano - Annunciation - c. 1425 - Tempera and gold leaf on wood, 41 x 48 cm - Pinacoteca, Vatican (click photo for larger image)By the end of the 14th century, the fusion of Italian and Northern European art had led to the development of an International Gothic style. As a consequence of the Black Death, which disseminated the population of Europe, leading artists traveled from Italy to France, vice versa, and all over Europe, in order to get work. As a result, ideas spread and merged, until eventually artists in what became known as the International Gothic style could be found in France, Italy, England, Germany, Austria and Bohemia. “In the International Gothic style (also known as the "beautiful style" or the "soft style") the oddities of natural forms are smoothed away, leaving behind an elegant, delicate realism, which perfectly suited the decorative needs of the royal courts which gave birth to it.” The style was sophisticated and cosmopolitan. In painting, one of the foremost practitioners was Gentile da Fabriano (c. 1370-1427). The small panel featured here combines the rigor of perspective construction with embellishments of pronounced courtly inspiration. It’s generally dated to around 1425, when the artist (on his way to Rome) spent a period of residence in Florence. It was there that he created some of his greatest masterpieces.

The scene takes place in a room enclosed on three sides and opened in front as if by a portico. The Virgin is startled by the angel's annunciation as she sits, hands folded in her lap, with an open prayer book beside her. Note that the settee on which she’s seated is richly ornamented, bearing shapes of diamonds, lozenges, and intersecting circles.