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Annunciation
Francisco Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746–1828)
about 1785
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
40.3 x 23.2 cm (15 7/8 x 9 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
William Francis Warden Fund
Accession Number1988.218
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
This painting, a sketch for a large altarpiece in a monastic chapel in Madrid, gives us a unique glimpse into Goya's creative process. The quick, fluid brushstrokes demonstrate the rapid technique used for a preliminary study. Many changes were made in the final version: the image of God the Father was omitted, and the positions of the Virgin and the angel Gabriel reversed. The fresh, spring-like colors are characteristic of Goya's early style; his later works are much more somber.
Catalogue Raisonné
G&W 235; Gu 166
ProvenanceEduardo Lucas Moreno, Madrid. 1908 until at least 1951, Marques de Casa Torres, Madrid. By 1960 until at least 1964, Wildenstein and Co., London. 1970, private collection, London. Private collection, Barcelona (?). June 29, 1979, anonymous sale, Christie's, London, lot 73, unsold (?). December 11, 1981, anonymous sale, Christie's, London, lot 67. By 1984, anonymous collector, Boston; 1988, sold by the anonymous collector to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 23, 1988)