Bartolomé Román, the Announcing Angel, 1640, Oil on Canvas

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The Announcing Angel

Workshop of Vincenzo Carducci, known in Spain as Vicente Carducho (Florence, 1576 – Madrid, 1638)

Attributable to … Read more The Announcing Angel

Workshop of Vincenzo Carducci, known in Spain as Vicente Carducho (Florence, 1576 – Madrid, 1638)

Attributable to Bartolomé Román (Montoro, c. 1587 – Madrid, 1647)

Oil on canvas

110 x 80 cm - Antique gilded wooden frame 138 x 108 cm.

Notes: At the bottom of the canvas, the inscription: 'Magna refert mariae supremi iussa tonanti, Gabiel aligeri gloria prima chori' ("The angel Gabriel, first glory of the winged choir, conveys to Mary the solemn commands of the thundering God") refers to the moment of the Annunciation.

The proposed work, characterized by a refined sacredness, depicts the Archangel Gabriel full-length as he is about to deliver the supreme announcement to the Virgin, offering her the canonical white lilies, a symbol of purity and chastity. It is a splendid subject, executed with great stylistic quality, likely commissioned for private use and therefore particularly pleasing and easy to place.

The Angel takes the form of a young man of rare beauty, with delicate features, wrapped in a light-colored, draped tunic with gold details on the chest and elaborate sandals encircling his calves, reflecting the late Renaissance and Andalusian Baroque pictorial style inspired by Titian.

The whole is marked by an intense classicism, where a balanced composition directs the viewer's attention to his angelic face.

Based on these characteristics, we can place its authorship within the circle of the painter Bartolomé Román (Montoro, c. 1587 – Madrid, 1647), an important Spanish painter of the early Baroque period, renowned for his mastery of religious subjects and his monumental cycles of archangels. He worked primarily in Madrid, deeply influenced by the Counter-Reformation.

He was one of the most brilliant disciples of the Tuscan master Vincenzo Carducci, from whom he inherited a taste for balanced compositions and imposing figures. He also refined his skills under the close tutelage of Diego Velázquez, whose naturalistic influence can be seen in several of his mature works.

His main contribution to the history of art lies in the development of the pictorial cycles dedicated to the Seven Archangels and the Guardian Angels, from which our painting is clearly derived, both in terms of compositional and stylistic choices.

During the 17th century, devotion to these celestial figures experienced a strong revival in Spain, and the painter codified a successful iconography in which angels were depicted full-length, with richly detailed robes and specific attributes (flowers, incense burners, or swords), often against a naturalistic backdrop.

We see in his works an artistic language built on a beautiful fusion of the principles of Italian Renaissance art theory with those arising from the practice of the same art in Madrid during the Baroque period.

His creations constituted an absolute reference model, a paradigm of a pictorial style balanced yet surprising in every aspect (drawing, color, composition, iconography), making him an undisputed reference in the Spanish art scene.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is complete with a beautiful antique frame and comes with a certificate of authenticity and an iconographic . This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



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