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The Annunciation
George Hitchcock (American, 1850–1913)
1887
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 158.8 × 204.5 cm (62 1/2 × 80 1/2 in.)
- Culture
- United States
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Potter Palmer Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
In George Hitchcock’s unusual presentation of the Annunciation, the virgin is depicted as a Dutch peasant girl standing in a field of lilies. Traditionally, the lily is a symbol of the angel Gabriel, and Mary’s downcast eyes and humble stance imply that she has received his divine message. Hitchcock spent much of his life in Holland, and his work synthesizes elements of several European art movements. The choice of a religious subject, the unusual composition, and his interest in the effects of sunlight and shadow reflect the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites, the Symbolists, and the Impressionists on Hitchcock’s work.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
