Annunciation

Of the many painters who followed Sebastiano Ricci and Pellegrini, very few achieved results of any degree of originality. Of those who did Giambattista Pittoni turned the lessons of Ricci to his own use in a personal style whose elegant, rhythmic composition and delicate tonal clarity clearly announce his involvement in the world of rococo. Pittoni’s taste for virtuoso display intensified still further towards the end of his career. It was in this period (1758) that he painted the ‘Annunciation’ to decorate the ‘stanza dello studio’ of the Old Academy which had been founded in 1750 at the Fonteghetto della Farina. The theatrical layout of the composition and the precious refinement of the drawing lend the sacred subject the air of an animated ballet with wonderfully fresh chromatic harmonies.