Description
The Annunciation (Glasgow) is a small panel painted around 1490 by Sandro Botticelli and his workshop: from the left the angel Gabriel hurries in, on the right Mary stands with bowed head at the door of her room, and between them a hall of grey stone arches opens into the depth. The original, tempera on panel, measures just 49.5 x 58.5 cm and belongs to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oil on canvas, in 6 landscape sizes from 65 x 53 to 190 x 154 cm or made to measure – every one of them larger than the original. When it is finished, we send you a photograph of your painting.
| Title: | The Annunciation (Glasgow) |
| Other titles: | Annunciazione (Italian title) · Oznanjenje (Slovene title) |
| Painter: | Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510) |
| Year painted: | c. 1490 |
| Original size: | 49.5 cm x 58.5 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Tempera on panel |
| Painting style: | Early Renaissance |
| Located at: | Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil on canvas, 6 sizes or made to measure |
The Annunciation (Glasgow) – Sandro Botticelli
What does the Glasgow Annunciation show?
The scene takes place in a tall hall of grey stone piers and vaults, seen in strict perspective. A broad stone pier stands in the middle and splits the picture into two halves: the angel’s space on the left, Mary’s room on the right. Red strips run along the floor and draw the eye into the depth.
The angel Gabriel arrives from the left in a white robe with a blue cloak, still in motion, wings spread and cloak flying behind him. He wears a gold ornament on his head, holds a slender stem of white flowers in his left hand and raises his right in greeting.
From the upper left corner a fine golden ray crosses the arcade and reaches Mary. She stands on the right in a blue mantle with pink sleeves and a gold halo, bows her head and lays her right hand on her breast. Beside her are a low stool and books on a lectern and a chest; behind her an open door gives onto a bedroom with a red curtain.
Through the arches on the left lie a courtyard and a garden of tall, slender trees, green hills and a blue sky with white clouds. A round window opens above Mary’s door.
What story does the Annunciation tell?
The painting shows the biblical moment when the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and announces that she will conceive and give birth to Jesus. Botticelli paints not a conversation but the arrival itself: the angel is still in flight, while Mary bows quietly with lowered head.
The stone pier rises between them; stone divides them and light joins them, since the golden ray travels from the left through the whole hall to Mary.
The space is built like a precise drawing: the columns follow one another and the floor squares shrink towards the back. The Italian Wikipedia notes that the perspective grid is not strictly correct along its diagonals, which shows how deliberately the painter constructed the room.
Why is this small panel so special?
The Glasgow Annunciation is valued above all for its architecture. Scholars have noted how closely its vaults and piers resemble the architectural forms of Giuliano da Sangallo.
Around 1490 Botticelli painted another, similarly small Annunciation, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
A short account of the panel is given in the Wikipedia article on the painting, written in English.
Where is the original, and where did it come from?
The original belongs to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Scotland. An inscription on the back of the panel records that the painting was once in the church of San Barnaba in Florence.
According to the English Wikipedia it was made by Botticelli and his workshop, and it is usually dated around 1490.
The same story is told in the Cestello Annunciation in the Uffizi, a larger and earlier altarpiece; the Glasgow version is a small panel whose space opens into the depth.
Sandro Botticelli, born Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, was the son of a Florentine tanner. Vasari says he first learned the goldsmith’s trade, and he learned painting under Filippo Lippi. He died on 17 May 1510 and was buried in the church of Ognissanti.
The Glasgow Annunciation or another Botticelli?
This oil painting reproduction suits anyone who loves calm, architecture and few figures; its grey, blue and red sit well in a bedroom, a study or a hallway.
To follow the story on, see The Mystical Nativity and Adoration of the Magi; its end is shown in Lamentation over the Dead Christ (Milan).
You will find every Botticelli we paint to order, from the famous Botticelli paintings to quieter panels like this one, on our Sandro Botticelli shelf.
How do we hand-paint the Glasgow Annunciation?
Botticelli’s panel is not an oil painting: it is tempera on wood and measures only 49.5 x 58.5 cm. Ours is a Sandro Botticelli reproduction built up by hand in oil on canvas, layer upon layer, so the canvas can be sent rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed.
Because all our sizes are larger than the original, the painter first transfers the perspective framework to the canvas: the central pier, the arches, the vaults and the red floor strips.
Then he lays in the greys of the stone, from light edges to dark shadows under the vaults, and the red of the floor. The figures follow: the angel’s white robe with its blue drapery and Mary’s deep blue mantle.
Last come the landscape, the trees and clouds, and then the gold of the ray, the halo and the chest beside Mary.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: 65 x 53 or 80 x 68 cm for a bedroom or hallway, the middle sizes above a chest of drawers, the largest for the living room.
We paint the Glasgow Annunciation in 6 landscape sizes (width x height): 65 x 53, 80 x 68, 93 x 75, 115 x 100, 150 x 121 and 190 x 154 cm. The original measures only 58.5 x 49.5 cm (width x height), so every one of our sizes is larger.
Even 65 x 53 cm is a little larger than the panel in Glasgow, and 190 x 154 cm is more than three times as wide. In the bigger sizes we are enlarging a small panel, and the deep arched hall opens up all the more on your wall.
As a painting for the living room it comes into its own from 115 x 100 cm, when you feel the perspective of the arches from the sofa. At 80 x 68 or 93 x 75 cm it looks good above a bed or a desk.
Can I order another size, and which frame suits it?
Yes. If you need other proportions, we keep the angel, the pier and Mary whole and adjust only the edge of the arcade, the sky or the floor in front, so this canvas painting still shows the entire scene. Send us your custom size for the Annunciation and we will reply with a price and a date.
We ship the Annunciation rolled in a tube, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Our workshop in Slovenia stretches and frames the Annunciation and packs it with care. You pick the moulding in our 3D app; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will your Annunciation arrive?
Your Annunciation is ready for dispatch 15 to 45 working days after you confirm the order. Before we pack the Annunciation, you receive a photograph of the finished canvas and we make any changes you ask for.
It travels within Slovenia and the rest of the EU without customs, and our returns policy applies to every order.
A scene of the angel and Mary makes a lovely gift for a christening, a wedding or anyone who loves Florence. Not sure which size is right? Give a gift voucher and let them choose.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original Annunciation?
At Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Scotland.
How big is Botticelli’s panel?
49.5 x 58.5 cm (height x width); every one of our sizes, even the smallest at 65 x 53 cm, is larger.
Is it a print?
No. It is a hand-painted copy in oil on canvas, brushed arch by arch by our painter.
Who painted the Glasgow Annunciation?
Sandro Botticelli together with his workshop, around 1490.
Can you paint the Annunciation in a size that is not listed?
Yes. Send us the width and height and we will give you a price and a delivery time.
How long does it take, and how does the painting reach me?
15 to 45 working days until dispatch; we send it rolled, stretched or framed.
Is the Annunciation suitable for a bedroom?
Yes. Its calm colours and quiet scene suit a bedroom or a study.
How does it differ from the Cestello Annunciation?
The Cestello Annunciation in the Uffizi is a larger, earlier altarpiece; the Glasgow one is a small panel with a deep arched hall.
- Subject: the angel Gabriel hurries to Mary through a hall of grey stone arches, linked to her by a golden ray.
- Original: tempera on panel, c. 1490, 49.5 x 58.5 cm, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow.
- Ours: hand-painted in oil on canvas, 6 sizes from 65 x 53 to 190 x 154 cm or made to measure, all larger than the original.
- Worth knowing: an inscription on the back of the panel names the church of San Barnaba in Florence.
