Art Institute of Chicago

The Annunciation

Alessandro Vittoria (Italian, 1525–1608)LinkedCulture matchlcp-b48ff3ccb37f

Date: c. 1583
Medium: Bronze
Culture: Venice
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID: 44741

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

Alessandro Vittoria translated into bronze the flickering light of Venetian Renaissance paintings. Working in wax (from which the finished bronze was then cast), he manipulated this relief’s form and edges to catch the light. The result is a highly animated surface in which figures, drapery, clouds, and sky seem to move with excitement, heightening the drama of the archangel Gabriel’s announcement that Mary will bear God’s son. Fully sculpted in the round, the archangel’s arm points to the scene’s smallest feature: a dove, representing the Holy Spirit. This sculpture was commissioned by Hans Fugger, a member of a prominent Augsburg banking family, to decorate an altarpiece for the chapel of his family’s castle.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Edward E. Ayer Endowment in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson
Provenance: Commissioned by Hans Fugger from Alessandro Vittoria for the Fugger Family chapel, Schloss Kirchheim, Augsburg, 1580. Fugger family collection, Schloss Kirchheim, Augsburg, until demolition of the castle in the nineteenth century [according to Trent 1999 exh. cat.]. Fugger family collection, Augsburg, until 1908. German art market, 1930 [according to Berlin 1995/96 exh. cat.; and Trent 1999 exh. cat.]. Dr. Preston P. Satterwhite, New York, by 1932 [see sources cited above; Planiscig 1932; and two letters from Leo Planiscig to Preston Satterwhite, 16 December 1932 and 2 March 1933, in curatorial file]. French & Co., New York, by 1942; sold to the Art Institute, 1942.