Half-bust of a Madonna of the Annunciation - Italy late 15th century

This late 15th-century Istrian stone half-bust depicts the Virgin of the Annunciation.
Cut at the waist, the Virgin rests on a sculpted base. She is depicted young, with fine, gentle features, her head tilted to the left. Her gaze, accentuated by the presence of pupils in her eyes, seems distant. She wears a veil revealing her wavy hair, held back by a button at her neck.
Her right hand rests on her chest, while her left holds a book. Her right arm is holding a slightly protruding piece of her garment. The Virgin appears to be already pregnant.
Made of Istrian stone, the half-bust must have been part of an altar piece or tomb. Istrian stone is a material close to marble, often considered a variant of it. It comes from the Croatian town of Istria and was widely imported into Venice from the 12th century onwards, being used in the construction of many Venetian buildings, such as the Bridge of Sighs.
The Annunciation is an episode recounted in the Gospel according to Saint Luke, chapter I, 26-38, in which the archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary her divine pregnancy. In art, the Annunciation is represented by the presence of Mary, the archangel Gabriel, and sometimes God or the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. From the 12th century onwards, in Western art, Mary is depicted reading a book.
This bust can be compared with a statue of a Venetian Madonna of the Annunciation, in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, dated 1440 - 1460, and attributed to Giorgio da Sebenico, Antonio di Bregno and Bartolomeo Buon.
The position of the Virgin's right hand, the presence of the book, the veil showing a few hairs, the button holding the veil in place and the slightly bowed head all suggest that the half-bust was made by a Venetian sculptor from the second half of the 15th century, one of Bartolomeo Buon's circle.
The Virgin's solemn, gentle gaze lends the work a profound intensity, moving the viewer and restoring the Virgin's humanity at the moment of announcing her divine maternity.