Bebudelsen

Unknown (German)

1434-1466

Classification
Miniature
Dimensions
height 90 mm, width 59 mm
Culture
German
Museum
SMK – National Gallery of Denmark
Rights
Public Domain Mark: SMK waives its rights in this photograph, as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

View at the SMK – National Gallery of Denmark

About this work

This small parchment sheet is painted on both sides. These miniature paintings were originally illustrations in religious texts. In this case possibly a prayer book illustrating a story about the Virgin Mary, who is the subject of both paintings. In one the Archangel Gabriel announces that she is to give birth to the Infant Jesus, and in the other she visits her relative Elisabeth. The work is a good example of how it is not always possible to identify the front (recto) and back (verso) of a work. Here both are equal, and equally valuable. It was not until the work entered the museum that one side was classified as recto, and the other as verso.