Archangel Gabriel
by VALDAMBRINO, Francesco di, Wood, height 160 cm
This painted wooden statue with gilding belongs to an Annunciation group made by Valdambrino to flank the high altar of the church of San Francesco in Pienza. The group depicts angel Gabriel telling the Virgin that she will conceive a child. The figures’ slim proportions and long drapery folds typify the so-called ‘International Gothic’, an elegant style that flourished during the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.