Focus on this artwork and analyze the Description and style.
Annunciation marks the passage from the Annunciation iconography of the 14th century (exemplified by the Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus of Simone Martini) to that of the 15th century and the Renaissance. The artwork is a delicate, ornamental scene, with precise chromatic effect. Masolino sets the scene not on a gold background but in a furnished room. He evokes the traditional separation of panels with a central column that divides the scene in two.: 279 Thanks to the use of perspective, the play of the arches directs the viewer's gaze into the background of the painting toward the door. The effect, however, is more decorative than realistic and creates some uncertainty. For example, the connection of the columns to the ceiling: at their bases they seem to be in the foreground, but at their capitals they seem further back. The two protagonists don't seem to inhabit the space but simply appear juxtaposed against it.The angel is dressed sumptuously and holds his arms crossed in a sign of reverence to the Virgin. She is seated on a throne and holds in her hand her traditional attribute of a book, symbol of the scriptures that will come true. With an gesture, she seems to accept the commission entrusted to her by the Lord, while a divine light illuminates the ceiling above her.
His figure is of elegant aristocracy with a mantle that creates drapery of articulate, moving lines in the International Gothic style. The tapered fingers are typical of Masolino: they look both ethereal and unrealistic.
Annunciation Masolino Simone Martini gold background perspective International Gothic Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus