The Annunciation

Gabriel has already landed. He kneels on the same floor as Mary, white lilies in his left hand, his right raised towards the dove of the Holy Spirit. She kneels as well, hands crossed on her breast in acceptance. Around her Murillo left the ordinary furniture of a working room, a book and a sewing basket, so the message arrives in a place where somebody lives.

The contrast of deep shadow and sharp light is why the Prado dates the canvas early, around 1650. The shape is unusual for the subject, 183 centimetres high and 225 wide, so the scene spreads sideways.

Carlos III bought it in 1764 from Florencio Kelly's collection in Madrid. By the palace inventory of 1772 it was hanging in the room where one of the infantas received visitors.