The Annunciation

The prototype is in the Pinacoteca Vaticana (see A. Emiliani, Federico Barocci, etc., Bologna, I, 1985, pp. 199ff.); it was etched in the same direction by Barocci himself. There are some differences, notably the cat is omitted, as is much of the view of Urbino. The prototype was frequently copied. The present work may have been acquired by Burchard because of its Rubensian colouring and handling, and because of Rubens's admiration for the artist (for which see M. Jaff, Rubens and Italy, Oxford, 1977, pp. 52-53, and lot no. 65 of this sale). This in part found expression in his Annunciation at Vienna (see M. Jaff, Rubens Catalogo Completo, Milan, 1989, no. 107), which was greatly influenced by Barocci's original.