Alessandro Tiarini (Bologna, 1577-1668)
The Annunciation, 1640/1645 ca.
oil on canvas; inv P 96
acquisition: bequest of Agostino Sieri Pepoli, 1910
Tiarini started his career as a pupil of the Bolognese painters Prospero Fontana and Bartolomeo Cesi.
Later, during a long stay in Florence, he studied under Passignano.
After returning to Bologna in 1606, he became one of the most original and inventive interpreters of Ludovico Carracci’s style, even though he had never been a pupil of the Carraccis at the Accademia degli Incamminati.
Tiarini’s work, often characterized by a dramatic use of chiaroscuro, is marked by a clear narrative thread and by the artist’s preference for humanising sacred subjects.
This small Annunciation dates from the artist’s late period, when, under the combined influences of the painter Francesco Albani and the school of Guido Reni, his palette grew paler and more delicate.
What makes this version of the Annunciation distinctive is its intimate atmosphere, which suggests that it was likely commissioned for private devotion.
