The Annunciation
1660-1671
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 35 × 44.5 cm (13 13/16 × 17 9/16 in.); Sheet, trimmed within platemark: 35.4 × 44.8 cm (13 15/16 × 17 11/16 in.); Sheet with taped margins: 35.6 × 45.1 cm (14 1/16 × 17 13/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
160097
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Gérard Edelinck’s engraving *The Annunciation* captures one of the most beloved scenes in Christian art: the moment when the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear the Christ child. Created between 1660 and 1671, this print exemplifies the reproductive engravings that flourished in seventeenth-century Europe, allowing viewers far from original paintings to experience major religious compositions in their own homes or places of worship. As an engraving on ivory laid paper, the work highlights the demanding technique of incising fine lines into a copper plate to translate light, shadow, and texture into black-and-white form. Edelinck, a Flemish-born artist active in France, was celebrated for his precise control and ability to convey the richness of painted originals through the print medium. Such engravings played a vital role in spreading artistic styles and devotional imagery across borders during the Baroque period. Housed today in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Department of Prints and Drawings, this sheet demonstrates how printmakers like Edelinck helped preserve and popularize sacred narratives for generations of viewers.