Lot Essay
Gaspar de Crayer treated this subject on two other occasions. Firstly circa 1617 for the church of Notre-Dame de Courtrai and in the canvas now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, (Inv. no. 497). Both of those works show the Virgin suprised by the arrival of the angel Gabriel. In the present work de Crayer uses the same anecdotal skills but with greater subtlety. He emphasises the serenity of the moment while relying less on the lavish ornaments surrounding the Virgin to enrich the canvas.