Annunciation after Beccafumi, Oil on Canvas, 6×6 ©2012 Michelle Arnold Paine
Another in my series of Annunciation transcriptions. The original Mannerist painting was completed in 1546 by Italian Domenico Beccafumi and is currently in the little town of Sarteano near Siena, Italy.
I’m not always a fan of Mannerism, but I love the mirrored swooping curves in this painting and the sense of motion it creates – so different from the very still, stable Annunciations of Fra Angelico and other 15th century paintings. Here we begin to see a bit of the drama of this extraordinary event – a visit from an angel and a child sent from God!
