Wellhead
Sculptures
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Archangel Gabriel of the Annunciation
| Artist | |
|---|---|
| Culture | Italian |
| Date | 1521-1524 |
| Object type | sculpture |
| Medium, technique | terracotta |
| Dimensions | 165 × 48 × 83 cm, 111 kg |
| Inventory number | 1190 |
| Collection | Sculptures |
| On view | Museum of Fine Arts, First Floor, European Art 1250-1600, Gallery XXIII |
Károly Pulszky, director of the predecessor of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, purchased this charming, life-size terracotta Archangel Gabriel statue at the end of the nineteenth century. Although it has always been considered a Sienese work, it long proved impossible to identify its master with certainty. In the 1970s, the statue was at last attributed to a family workshop of sculptors in Siena, specifically to Angelo di Mariano, who was also active in Rome. The sculptors, also known as the Marrini, emerged in the 1490s, and, after the death of the famous Sienese sculptor Giacomo Cozzarelli in 1515, their workshop became the leading one in the city. The strongly classicising figure of Gabriel shows the influence of Roman art, which is also reflected in Angelo’s works produced in Rome, such as the Sepulchral Monument of Pope Adrian VI. This Gabriel probably once formed an Annunciation group with the statue of the Virgin Mary exhibited here, or another, similar statue. He was likely shown holding a lily and offering it to the Virgin. This detail, probably made of metal, has since been lost.
References
Balogh, Jolán, Katalog der ausländischen Bildwerke des Museums der bildenden Künste in Budapest, IV – XVIII. Jahrhundert: 1. Textband Bd. 1, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1975, p. 84-85., no. 87.
Dal Poggetto, Maria Grazia Ciardi Dupré, “Recensione – Jolán Balogh, Katalog der ausländischen Bildwerke der Museums der bildenden Künste in Budapest. IV-XVIII Jahrhundert Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1975 Vols. 2: I, Textband; II, Bildband.”, Prospettiva 8-11 (1977), p. 63-67.
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.