VENTURA SALIMBENI (1568-1613)

The Sienese painter and etcher Ventura Salimbeni (half-brother of Francesco Vanni) moved to Rome in 1588, where he received numerous commissions, including works in Chiesa del Gesu' and Santa Maria Maggiore: in the latter, the painted Annunciation that can be related to the present etching but with some differences. Two preparatory drawings for the composition exist: one in the Biblioteca Comunale degli Intronati in Siena (inv. no. S.III.3, 14r c) and a second drawing of the whole composition, attributed to Salimbeni, at the Louvre (inv. no. 1638r).