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Painting of an angel clothed in a flowy, white garment facing upwards into inky darkness.

Portrait of an angel facing away from the viewer, obscuring their face. The angel’s skin is very pale and their cheeks are stained with pink blush. Long brown hair curls along the angel’s neck before being twisted into a bun. The angel is clothed in a simple, flowy, white garment that opens at the neck. Large, feathered wings extend out from the angel’s back. The angel holds a cross-like plant frond in their hand, featuring three white flowers that sprout from the top of the stalk.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2021.185
People
Giuseppe Maria Crespi, Italian (Bologna, Italy 1665-1747 Bologna, Italy)
Title
The Angel of the Annunciation
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting
Date
c. 1715-1720
Culture
Italian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/370187

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
60 × 50.5 cm (23 5/8 × 19 7/8 in.)
framed: 83 × 72.3 cm (32 11/16 × 28 7/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: verso, top of frame, white chalk: SOLOMON E 2481
  • inscription: verso, center stretcher, white chalk: z A607-1
  • inscription: verso, top stretcher, right side: x CRESPI
  • label: verso, upper right strecher, blue ballpoint: z [or 2] 4670
  • label: verso, top stretcher, center, marker ink?: 7263.
  • inscription: verso, left stretcher, white chalk: WEITZNER
  • inscription: verso, bottom of frame, white chalk: 12/76 WEITZNER 1 [encircled] CRESPI [or COLSPI?]
  • inscription: verso, right stretcher, white chalk: SOLOMON

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Sold [through Sotheby's, London, November 12, 1969, lot 58]; to [Julius H. Weitzner, New York and London], sold; to Arthur K. Solomon, Cambridge, 1972; The Arthur K. and Mariot F. Solomon Trust, bequest; to Harvard Art Museums, 2021

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Arthur K. and Mariot F. Solomon Collection
Accession Year
2021
Object Number
2021.185
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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Publication History

  • Catalogue of Old Master Paintings, auct. cat., Sotheby's, London (London, November 12, 1969), p. 22, lot 58
  • Mira Pajes Merriman, Giuseppe Maria Crespi, Rizzoli (Milan, 1980), cat. no. 17, repr.

Related Works

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu