Portuguese workshop, first half of the 16th century

Oil on oakwood board

Inv. 44

Long associated with the Master of Lourinhã, an attribution established in 1963 by Luís Reis Santos in a work dedicated to this artist, this retable painting has subsequently been considered the product of a workshop, perhaps made by one of this master’s followers. As with other paintings on wood with the theme of the Annunciation, it provides excellent documentary insight into 15th-century interiors, acquiring a special relevance in the context of this Museum for that reason. The room in which Mary is depicted and its furniture is identified as being typical of those of the privileged classes of the period, a historical anachronism that encouraged the faithful to contemplate the miracle with a sense of personal and eternal relevance. Two spaces can clearly be distinguished. In the background, the ‘sleeping chamber’, with a mosaic floor, where one can see a bed with the canopy tassels tied in a knot, a niche/shelf with various objects and an unusual cabinet, appearing to be from a later period. In the foreground, where the main scene unfolds, the floor appears partially covered with a carpet on which we can glimpse a large velvet cushion with golden tassels where the Virgin is seated. Characteristically Iberian, this custom was one of the many legacies of the long Arab presence in the Peninsula, adopted by women of all walks of life over the following centuries.