The Annunciation (1594): Art, History and Details

The Annunciation (1594) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The series of six prints, The Life of the Virgin, is also known as the Master Engravings, an acknowledgment of Goltzius's significant achievement. Each of the six engravings evokes a different artistic style, imitating but not copying works by Albrecht Dürer (1471–1526), Federico Barocci (about 1535–1612), and others. An engraved dedication to Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria, appears in the lower left corner. Written by poet Cornelis Schoneus (1540–1611), it praises the versatility and skill of Hendrik Goltzius. The inscription across the bottom that refers to the subject of the print reads: "Set aside your fear, Virgin, I appear to you as a messenger sent from the heavenly vault: undamaged shall you give birth, to the astonishment of nature, following the prophecies sung by the ancient prophets, and the whole world will worship you as the mother of god."

Object facts

• Title: The Annunciation
• Date: 1594
• Creator attribution: Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617)
• Culture: Netherlands, late 16th Century
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Dimensions: Image: 46.1 x 34.9 cm (18 1/8 x 13 3/4 in.); Sheet: 47 x 35.1 cm (18 1/2 x 13 13/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1994.85

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.