The Annunciation

(Carlo Francesco Nuvolone)

The exquisite enamel-like quality of this panel and its excellent state of preservation mark this work as a magnificent addition to the catalogue of Carlo Franceco Nuvolone’s early production.  It can be seen as belonging to the youthful phase of the artist’s work.  The present work shows his focus on the new Lombard taste for beauty and grace.  The influence of Giulio Cesare Procaccini, the true heir of Correggio in Milan is clear. This marks a period in which work by Daniele Crespi, Nuvolone and the next generation of Lombard painters show their mastery.

The softness of the flesh of his figures, the beautiful coloring, and the emotional and sentimental expression of the subjects are remarkable elements of his work.  Here the timid recoil of the Virgin contrasted to the forceful approach of the angel of the annunciation lend the work great vitality as well as a graceful beauty.

This panel, painted in the artist’s full maturity, seems to have been painted sometime after his altarpiece of Santa Marta and the Dragon (Pinacoteca Malaspina, Pavia), which was the first painting by Nuvolone that can be attributed to a certain date – 1636.

Private collection, Italy.