The Annunciation (Van Eyck)
c. 1434–1436 · Oil on canvas, transferred from panel · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
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About this work
- Artist
- Jan van Eyck (c. 1390–1441)
- Year
- c. 1434–1436
- Medium
- Oil on canvas, transferred from panel
- Original size
- 90.2 × 34.1 cm
- Collection
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- Movement
- Northern Renaissance
In a tall church interior the angel Gabriel, in a jewelled red and gold cope with rainbow wings, greets the Virgin, who looks up from a large open book in a blue mantle; his words AVE GRA PLENA, hail, full of grace, rise from his mouth, and her answer, ECCE ANCILLA DOMINI, behold the handmaid of the Lord, is written upside down so that it can be read from heaven. Seven rays of light and the dove of the Holy Spirit descend to her from a high window, and the floor tiles show scenes from the Old Testament. Jan van Eyck painted it in about 1434–1436, probably as the left wing of a triptych whose other parts are lost. It may have come from the Chartreuse de Champmol near Dijon. Bought for Tsar Nicholas I in 1850 and later transferred from panel to canvas, it was sold by the Soviet government to Andrew W. Mellon in 1930 and is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A tall church interior with a red-and-gold angel greeting the Virgin in deep blue, for a hallway, landing or narrow wall at 16×24 in black. A deep blue, stone or warm white wall; it pairs with Woman in Blue Reading a Letter.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Northern Renaissance painting
- Era
- 15th century (c. 1434–1436)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, living room, dining room, dorm room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Annunciation in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Annunciation painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
