Annunciate Angel

Abstract

This painted wood sculpture of the angel Gabriel in the act of giving the Annunciation (in Santi Paolino e Donato in Lucca) has been attributed to an unknown Lucchese artist and dated to the late trecento or early quattrocento on the basis of style. This statue would have been originally paired with one of the Virgin Mary, forming an Annunciation, and Gabriel would have presumably had wings (made of wood or possibly an ephemeral material, such as cloth or maybe even feathers). Delicate original polychromy survives, including finely painted patterning on the white cloak, but the statue is extremely difficult to see or photograph in its current location high in a dark church, in a niche, behind glass. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.