| Artist | Fra Angelico |
|---|---|
| Year | c. 1449-1459 |
| Type | Tempera on wood |
| Location | National Gallery, London, UK |
The Annunciation is a tempera on panel painting by the Italian Renaissance master Filippo Lippi, dating to c. 1449-1459 and housed in the National Gallery of London.
The painting is paired by the Seven Saints in the same museum, and was commissioned as part of the decoration of the Palazzo Medici of Florence. It was likely placed above a door or a bed.
Both the lunettes were acquired just before 1848 from the Metzger brother and introduced in the gallery in 1861.
Lippi's authorship is generally recognized; the dating is more disputed, varying from Lorenzo the Magnificent's death (1449) and the completion of the palace's furnishing in 1459.
The commissioning by the Medici is testified by the presence of Piero di Cosimo de' Medici's coat of arms (three feathers crossed by a ring with diamond and cartouche) at the base of the small column with a vase which divides the painting in two.
The subject of the painting is the Annunciation of Mary with the archangel Gabriel (left) and Mary (right). God, whose hand can be seen at the lunette's top is blessing Mary through the dove symbolizing the Holy Ghost.