Annunciation

Artist Benedetto Gennari II (Italian, 1633-1715, active in Bologna, Paris and London)

Date1686

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsImage: 100 1/2 x 82 3/4 in. (255.3 x 210.2 cm)
Frame (New Frame): 110 3/8 × 93 1/8 × 3 9/16 in. (280.4 × 236.5 × 9 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936

Object numberSN131

This monumental altarpiece is one of Gennari’s most important works. It was commissioned by King James II of England for his new Roman Catholic chapel in Whitehall Palace in London, which was completed in 1686. Like the king's reign, the chapel was short-lived: it was dismantled soon after James was deposed in 1688, its contents were dispersed, and the building was destroyed by fire in 1698. Gennari spent fourteen years at the English court, working first for Charles II and then for his successor, James II. He had learned painting in Bologna from his uncle, the celebrated painter known as Il Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), whose work is well represented in The Ringling’s collections. Guercino’s depiction of the same subject is displayed on the south wall of this gallery.

On View

On view

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