Flemish school; 17th century.

Flemish school; XVII century.
"Annunciation".
Oil on copper.
It has a frame of the nineteenth century:
Measurements: 46 x 36.5 cm; 55 x 50 cm (frame).
This 17th century Flemish work, executed in the technique of oil on copper, represents with emotional intensity and meticulous detail one of the most transcendental episodes of Christianity: the Annunciation. In it, the moment in which the Archangel Gabriel communicates to the Virgin Mary the incarnation of the Word becomes a restrained visual drama, but deeply symbolic and devout, as demanded by the spiritual and aesthetic sensibility of the Counter-Reformation art of the time.
The scene takes place in a barely suggested architectural interior, where the symbolic and the celestial take precedence over the scenographic. The angel Gabriel, with a youthful face and solemn expression, is presented in a dynamic attitude, with one hand raised upwards and the other extended towards Mary. He wears a green tunic with golden touches and a reddish cloak that adds drama to the gesture and movement. Her left foot rests on a cloud, indicating her celestial origin and underlining the divine irruption into the earthly space.
Mary, located on the right, is shown serene and restrained, with her head slightly bowed and her right hand on her breast, a traditional gesture of humble acceptance of the divine will. Her vestments, in rich shades of red and blue, reflect her dual nature as mother of God (the red of divine love) and figure of purity (the heavenly blue). In front of her, on a lectern, is an open book: an allusion to the Scriptures and a symbol of her wisdom and her role as the new Eve, the recipient and fulfiller of prophecy.
In the upper part, the heavenly scene unfolds: God the Father emerges amid clouds charged with light, accompanied by cherubim and angels bearing symbols of the Passion, such as the nails and the cross, anticipating the destiny of the son announced. The Holy Spirit, in the form of a luminous dove, descends towards Mary, surrounded by a golden halo that radiates grace, thus closing the Trinitarian cycle that underlies the mystery of the Incarnation.