The Annunciation with two Kneeling Donors (Lippi)

The Annunciation is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi

Filippo Lippi

Fra' Filippo Lippi , also called Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Italian Quattrocento .-Biography and works:...

. Dating to of 1440-45, it is housed in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica

The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, or National Gallery of Ancient Art, is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, located on two sites: the Palazzo Barberini and the Palazzo Corsini....

of Palazzo Barberini

Palazzo Barberini

Palazzo Barberini is a palace in Rome, facing the piazza of the same name in Rione Trevi and is home to the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica.-History:...

, Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

.

The composition pivots around the Virgin, who occupies the centre of the scene. In the background, on the right, two small figures of women are riding a stair. The two donor portrait

Donor portrait

A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or her, family...

s show the unknown donors kneeling behind a cordonata

Cordonata

Cordonata is a sloping road composed of transversal stripes , which are made with stone or bricks. It has a form almost similar to a flight of steps, but allows the transit of horses and donkeys...

. That they were represented in natural size (i.e., in the same size as the religious figures) was a relatively new stylistic feature.

See also