Annunciation
Medium
Pen and black ink, with brush and gray wash, heightened with white gouache, on parchment with prepared ground layer
Dimensions
11.8 × 9 cm (4 11/16 × 3 9/16 in.)
Classification
ink or chalk wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
82579
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate *Annunciation* by Cosmos Damian Asam, a preparatory drawing capturing the biblical moment when the angel Gabriel reveals to the Virgin Mary her destiny. Created in the early 18th century during the height of the Bavarian Baroque, Asam—one of the celebrated Asam brothers known for their illusionistic frescoes and stucco decorations in South German churches—likely sketched this as a study for a larger fresco or altarpiece. Its intimate scale, just 11.8 × 9 cm, invites close, evoking the spiritual drama of the scene through precise lines and luminous effects. Crafted on parch...