The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 13, 2026

A vertically oriented ink and tempera manuscript on vellum depicts the Annunciation framed by a gold arch. The Virgin Mary wears a blue robe and gold halo, kneeling before an open book. The winged angel Gabriel stands opposite, holding a white scroll. Both have light skin tones. Surrounding this, thirteen small men with light skin tones in colorful garments are intertwined within a decorative border of green vines.

Leaf from a Book of Hours: The Annunciation (recto)

1470s

Flanders, Ghent , 15th century

(?)
ink, tempera and gold on vellum
Leaf: 17.9 x 12.5 cm (7 1/16 x 4 15/16 in.)
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection 2014.24.a
Location: Not on view

Description

The Annunciation is the traditional introduction to matins, the first of the eight canonical hours. This striking scene recalls the archangel Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin Mary that she was to become the mother of God. The humble scene, steeped in monumentality and innocence, honors one of the most significant moments in Christian history—the coming of God into the world. Flemish artists, in particular, tenderly elaborated this event. The Virgin is usually shown within an architectural interior. Typically her bedroom, this interior space includes a curtained bed, a wooden bench, windows through which a landscape is revealed, and a simple earthenware ewer filled with lilies that proclaim her innocence. Within this private setting, Mary kneels to read from an open book of hours. Her prayer is interrupted by the angel's appearance and she is captured by the artist in stunned surprise. The miniature is accompanied by an illustration in the margins of the Tree of Jesse, the family tree showing Jesus's human descent from Jesse, the father of King David, through the royal house of Judah. The motif begins in the lower margin with the seated Jesse, from whom a tree grows. David, Solomon, and various kings and prophets can be seen in its branches.
  • [Bruce Ferrini, Akron]
  • Fliegel, Stephen N. The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 56, cat. no. 54
  • Prince Salim's Life of Christ (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (December 2, 2019-July 1, 2020).
  • {{cite web|title=Leaf from a Book of Hours: The Annunciation (recto)|url=false|author=|year=1470s|access-date=13 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2014.24.a