The Annunciation (c. 1503–5): Art, History and Details

The Annunciation (c. 1503–5) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528).

The work and its context

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

Dürer’s Gabriel is no humble messenger: he commands the space with rippling drapery and an expansive spread of wings. Indeed, it is Mary who seems submissive, dwarfed by the massive architecture and her new responsibility as the mother of God. The grand setting underscores the drama of the moment and displays Dürer’s command of mathematical perspective. Details in Dürer’s Annunciation held significance for European Christians. For example, the dove hovering above Mary’s head in a blaze of light indicates the moment the Holy Spirit impregnates her; the Old Testament heroine Judith, depicted in a roundel just below the ceiling, symbolizes Mary’s victory over the devil.

Object facts

• Title: The Annunciation
• Date: c. 1503–5
• Creator attribution: Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528)
• Culture: Germany, early 16th Century
• Type: Print
• Technique: woodcut
• Collection: PR - Woodcut
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1959.99.8

A detail from the museum

Dürer's cycle depicting Mary's life, which gained instant acclaim, was remarkable not only for its theological accuracy but also for its unprecedented wealth of detail.

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Dürer, Albrecht. The Life of the Virgin. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1959.

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.