The Annunciation to Mary

The Master of the Legend of Ulrich is a conventional art-historical designation for an anonymous Upper German painter active around 1470–1480, associated with a cycle depicting the life of Saint Ulrich of Augsburg, the tenth-century bishop and first papally canonised saint. This Annunciation belongs either to that hagiographic cycle or to a related altarpiece programme from the same workshop. Upper German painting of the 1470s was absorbing influences from both the Flemish tradition to the northwest and from the northern Italian experiments in spatial construction filtering through the Alpine passes, and the anonymous masters of this period show varying degrees of synthesising these competing impulses. The result is often a distinctive hybrid: emotional directness and decorative richness inherited from the German tradition with tentative spatial depth learned from Italian examples.

The Master of the Legend of Ulrich renders the Annunciation within a shallow architectural setting that establishes a notional interior space without achieving deep perspective recession. Gabriel's wings are large and colourful — a northern taste for decorative display. The Virgin's reading or prayer posture signals her interrupted devotions. Colours are warm and contrasting: blue for Mary, red or gold for the angel, against a pale architectural ground.