Paintings of the Annunciation, which portray the moment when the angel Gabriel surprised the Virgin Mary by telling her that she would become the mother of Christ, were very popular in Renaissance. Leonardo’s version depicts the announcement and reaction as a narrative occurring in a walled garden of a stately country villa as Mary looks up from reading a book (Figure 11) Although ambitious, the painting is so flawed that it attribution to Leonardo has been debated; some experts contend that it was the product of an awkward collaboration with Verrocchio and others in his shop. But a variety of evidence show that Leonardo was the primary if not sole artist. He made a preparatory drawing of Gaberiel’s sleeve, and the painting exhibits his trademark style of dabbing the oil paint with his hands. His finger smudges can be seen, in the very close inspection of the Virgin Mary’s right hand on the leaves of the beas of the lectern. ~ Page 57
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Dinesh said: