# The Virgin of the Annunciation

- By: Martin Schongauer (German, c. 1430/50-1491)
- Date: 1470/75
- Medium: Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
- Classification: Print
- Dimensions: Sheet, trimmed to platemark: 17 × 11.7 cm (6 3/4 × 4 5/8 in.)
- Culture: Germany
- Credit line: Gift of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/84749)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/fe8a6982-9a6d-47c3-a83e-45c29b301651/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Martin Schongauer conceived the Angel and the Virgin of the Annunciation as two separate engravings, forming a type of diptych. The angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary often appeared against a dark ground on the outer wings of altarpieces, painted in a monochromic style called grisaille, which emphasizes the figures’ sculptural relief. Schongauer’s pared-down background replaces the view of Mary’s bedroom usually found in Annunciation scenes. Instead, Mary receives the news of her divine motherhood from the angel with only a book in her hand; the potted lily represents her absolute purity. Schongauer’s treatment of the flowing drapery further underscores the figures’ monumentality.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0