Annunciation is a 1646 oil on canvas painting by Guercino, now in the collegiate church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Pieve di Cento, a few kilometres from the painter's birthplace of Cento. The artist used the same colours for Mary's clothes in his 1656 Immaculate Conception (Pinacoteca Civica F. Podesti, Ancona), along with the face of God.
The work was commissioned by Francesco Maria Mastellari for the high altarpiece of "the church of Santissima Annunciata degli Scolopi" for 183 scudi, a price far below the artist's worth, probably indicating a strong link between him and Mastellari's family. [1] In 1678 Carlo Cesare Malvasia called it "An altarpiece of the Annunciation for the Lords Mastellari of Pieve, placed in that church", referred to the payment for it and stated that the family held the patronage rights for the Scolopi monastery. [2]
In 1924 the work's original church was deconsecrated and the painting passed to the town council, which placed it in its council hall until 1940, when it was moved to the first altar on the north side of the nave of the collegiate church of Santa Maria Maggiore, an altar dedicated to the Annunciation. That church was badly damaged in the 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes and the painting moved to the Museo MAGI 900, where it was restored with financial support from Genus Bononiae - Musei nella città, Sandra and Alberto Alberghini and the Lions Club of Pieve di Cento. The painting then appeared in the Guercino ritrovato (Guercino Rediscovered) curated in the palazzo Fava in Bologna by Vittorio Sgarbi. [3]
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, better known as Guercino, or il Guercino[ɡwerˈtʃiːno], was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous naturalism of his early manner contrasts with the classical equilibrium of his later works. His many drawings are noted for their luminosity and lively style.
Girolamo Muziano or Mutiani, was an Italian painter, one of the most prominent artists active in Rome in the mid-to-late sixteenth century.
Cento is a town and comune in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
Giovanni Lanfranco was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.
Pieve di Cento is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Bologna.
Giovanni Battista Cremonini was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period.
Pietro Dandini was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence.
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Mariotto di Nardo di Cione was a Florentine painter in the Florentine Gothic style. He worked at the Duomo of Florence, the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, and the Orsanmichele. He created both frescoes and panel paintings, and was also active as a manuscript illuminator.
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Bartolomeo Gennari was an Italian Renaissance painter. His painting style is consistent with the Bolognese School of painting.
Santa Chiara is a Baroque style, Roman Catholic church or chapel constructed as part of the former Convent of the Clarissan nuns in Pieve di Cento, Region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
Antonio Mosca was an Italian painter.
The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore is an important place of worship in the city of Trento, and the site of the Third Session of the Council of Trent. It was built by Antonio Medaglia on the model of the basilica of Sant'Andrea in Mantua, at the wish of the Prince-Archbishop Bernardo Clesio. In November 1973 Pope Paul VI accorded it the status of minor cathedral.
The Ponteranica Altarpiece is a six-panel oil painting series produced by Lorenzo Lotto in 1522, commissioned by the Scuola del Corpo di Cristo for the parish church of San Vincenzo e Sant'Alessandro in Ponteranica, where it still remains. Its upper register shows the risen Christ flanked by an Annunciation scene, whilst below is John the Baptist flanked by saints Peter and Paul.
The church and convent of the Santissima Annunziata is a Baroque-style, Roman Catholic church located on Piazza de Servi #4, Pistoia, region of Tuscany, Italy. The convent presently functions as a warehouse. The church is down via Laudesi from the San Desiderio, and via Piazza de Servi, From San Giovanni Decollato.