The Cestello Annunciation

The Cestello Annunciation is a painting in tempera on panel made in 1489 by Sandro Botticelli. It was painted for the patron Benedetto di Ser Giovanni Guardi to adorn the church of the Florentine monastery of Cestello, which is now known as Santa Maria Maddalena de’Pazzi.

Annunciation is the subject of the painting. The Archangel Gabriel visits the Virgin Mary to ‘announce’ to her (hence ‘Annunciation’) that she has been chosen by God to bear the Christ child should she accept this invitation. Her ‘fiat’ (Let it be done to me) is the Annunciation.

Underneath the painting on its original frame is words in Latin from St. Luke’s Gospel 1:35 “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.”

The subject of the Annunciation is common in Christian art and has been depicted by many artists, in many formats, and in different time periods. In addition to the Cestello Annunciation, Botticelli also painted a 1485 Annunciation now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a 1495-1500 version now housed in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

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