The Story
The Coronation of the Virgin by Annibale Carracci. Purchase, Bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot (1876-1967), by exchange, and Dr. and Mrs. Manuel Porter and sons Gift, in honor of Mrs. Sarah Porter, 1971
Created in 1609 during the Baroque period, this work belongs firmly within the religion & mythology tradition. Annibale Carracci worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.
Executed in Oil on canvas, measuring 46 3/8 x 55 5/8 in. (117.8 x 141.3 cm), the surface rewards close looking. Annibale Carracci builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
