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Lot Essay
Principally active as a portraitist for the Spanish royal family and aristocracy, Meléndez, who was uncle to the renowned still-life painter Luis Meléndez, became court painter to King Philip V in 1712. He was however, equally active as a painter of religious subjects and, as Professor Pérez Sánchez notes, in these pictures Meléndez's style combines delicate coloring and a rococo sensibility.
There are two Annunciations by Meléndez both signed and dated with eight years apart. The first one dated 1710 (Fine Arts Museum, San Franscisco) is known as his earliest religious composition and is very similar in format, 60 x 40 cm., to the present painting. The other Annunciation in a private collection, Madrid, of large scale, 188 x 210 cm., is signed and dated 1718. The present lot is presumably a preparatory study for this remarkable Annunciation which is considered among the artist's most important works.
There are two Annunciations by Meléndez both signed and dated with eight years apart. The first one dated 1710 (Fine Arts Museum, San Franscisco) is known as his earliest religious composition and is very similar in format, 60 x 40 cm., to the present painting. The other Annunciation in a private collection, Madrid, of large scale, 188 x 210 cm., is signed and dated 1718. The present lot is presumably a preparatory study for this remarkable Annunciation which is considered among the artist's most important works.