Attributed to Giovanni Marigliano, called Giovanni da Nola (1488–1558) Italian, Naples, first half 16th century

Art market, Milan, 1983

Photograph, Fondazione Federico Zeri, Università di Bologna, no. 75512 [Merliano Giovanni, Maria Vergine annunciata]

Considering the age of the sculpture, the condition is very good, with some dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The sculpture is carved in sections and joints are slightly visible, as the polychromy has very slightly opened around them, including a joint across the upper body and around the proper left elbow and around the back. A further joint is very slightly visible on the back on the proper right side close to the edge and to the front at the top of the base on the proper right side. There are a few plugs, including to the Virgin's book and her proper left hand at the front, and to the back on the proper left side at the edge and at the centre. There is a small metal bracket for reinforcement at the back, and there are a few very small metal pins. There is minor stable splitting to the wood, consistent with the material, including to the chest on the proper right side. There is a slightly open but stable split at the back. There is very minor evidence of non-active worming in areas, including the face. There is particular evidence of past worming to the terrasse, which has led to some losses around the lower edge, notably at the front. There are several layers of polychromy and gilding. Some of the gilding has worn, revealing the red ground underneath. There is some wear to the polychromy, including craquelure and minor losses, notably to the high points of the drapery around the proper left arm and the drapery falling from the proper right arm.
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This serene, contemplative, and rare, Virgin of the Annunciation can be attributed to the celebrated wood carver and sculptor Giovanni Marigliano, who operated in Naples and was responsible for many of the most important tomb monuments erected in the city in the first half of the 16th century. The clearest comparisons for the present figure, however, are found in Marigliano's early wood sculpture, in particular his Relief with the Virgin of the Annunciation in the Church of Santa Maria la Nova in Naples, which exhibits the same placid expression and simple, linear, folds of drapery (see Carli, op. cit., fig. 89). Marigliano was responsible for two important polychromed wood crib groups: those in San Domenico Maggiore (circa 1507) and Santa Maria del Parto (1524) in Naples. The latter group, in particular, represents a fruitful comparison with the present figure. Each of the figures kneel and bear the same calm, reverent, expressions, and so represent a direct compositional comparison. Note also the thick layers of hair on the heads of the male devotees, which are strikingly similar to the tresses falling about the Virgin's shoulders in the present group. The linearity of the Virgin's drapery finds some of its strongest comparisons in later tomb sculpture by Marigliano. Note, for example, the kneeling Maria Osorio Pimentel, book held in her hands, from the double tomb monument to herself and her husband Pedro de Toledo in the church of San Giacomo degli Spagnoli, Naples (circa 1540-1546); Marigliano's crowning masterpiece.

RELATED LITERATURE
E. Carli, La scultura lignea Italiana dal XII al XVI secolo, Milan, 1960, pp. 114-117; R. Naldi (ed.), Giovanni da Nola; Annibale Caccavello; Giovan Domenico D'Auria: Sculture 'ritrovate' tra Napoli e Terra di Lavoro 1545-1565, Naples, 2007, p. 93, fig. 71; Antonia Boström. "Marigliano, Giovanni." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.