Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Nobleman"), London, Sotheby's, December 9, 1992, lot 45;
With Colnaghi, London, 1993;
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

London, Colnaghi, Master Paintings, 1400-1800, 1993, pp. 24-25, no. 6;
Turin, Dipinti Lombardi del Seicento. Collezione Koelliker, 2004, pp. 50-53;
Milan, Palazzo Reale, Maestri del '600 e del '700 Lombardo nella Collezione Koelliker, 1 April - 2 July 2006, pp. 42-45, no. 9, reproduced in colour.

H. Brigstocke, 'Un don des Amis du Louvre: L'Annonciation de G. C. Procaccini', in La Revue du Louvre, no. 4, October 1990, pp. 279-84;
D. Garstang, Master Paintings, 1400-1800, exhibition catalogue, London 1993, pp. 24-4, no. 6;
A. Morandotti, Pittura Italiana Antica. Artisti e Opere del Seicento e del Settecento, Milan 1995, p. 226;
H. Brigstocke, Procaccini in America, exhibition catalogue, London 2002, p. 177, reproduced;
H. Brigstocke, in Dipinti Lombardi del Seicento. Collezione Koelliker, Turin 2004, pp. 50-53;
S. Loire, Peintures italiennes du XVIIe siècle du musée du Louvre, Paris 2006, p. 262, reproduced fig. 123;
H. Brigstocke, in Maestri del '600 e del '700 Lombardo nella Collezione Koelliker, Milan 2006, p🏅p. 42-45, no. 9, reproduced in colour.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has been recently restored and could be hung as is. The canvas has been lined using glue as an adhesive and nicely stabilizes the surface. The paint layer has been conservatively cleaned and a visible but attractive patina exists throughout. The paint layer is in excellent condition. It is completely unabraded and the colors have maintained their luminescence. The conservation is visible under ultraviolet light addressing a vertical break through the body of the dove in the upper center, but the head and the wings are well preserved. This retouch extends to approximately an inch and a half beneath the bird. Immediately to the top right of the head of the angel on the left, there is a vertical restoration which extends down into the angel's shoulder. At its widest, this restoration measures about an inch and a half wide and there may be an actual break in the canvas here. Above the wrist of the left hand of the figure on the right, there is a restoration and in the lower right corner in the sleeve, there is another restoration measuring three by two inches. The faces and bulk of the remainder of the picture is in spectacular condition and the conservative cleaning and beautiful texture present the picture beautifully.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Procaccini painted this popular subject on at least eight further occasions and of these the majority are typically large works or altarpieces, filled with extraneous detail, cavorting putti and a dramatic sense of movement; they are thus more typically baroque.¹ The present lot is certainly Procaccini's most intimate treatment of the subject and, as Hugh Brigstocke put it, 'un ritorno all' ordine, a la chiarezza e ai toni intimistici dell' opera di York.'²  The York City Art Gallery picture is his earliest Annunciation and is datable to circa 1610, probably coming just prior to the magnificent altarpiece in the church of Sant' Antonio Abate, Milan, which is documented in 1610-11.³  The present work is likely to have been painted circa 1616-20, towards the end of the artist's career. During this time he was particularly active in Genoese circles, having been invited for an extended stay in Genoa by Giovan Carlo Doria in 1618.⁴  Certainly the present work reflects Procaccini's debt to the art of Peter Paul Rubens, whose many works in Genoa, including the Circumcision in the church of Il Gesù, he studied closely. Procaccini's drawings of this period also manifest a particular debt to Rubens, and indeed to Federico Barocci, and in a drawing related to the present work in the Gall♓eria dell' Academia, Venice, Rubens' influenc🐻e is palpable (see fig. 1).

Although the present work cannot firmly be traced further back than the 1992 sale (see Provenance), given its stylistic proximity to other works painted in Genoa, such as the Judith with the head of Holofernes, formerly in the Doria collection, and the Christ and the adultress in the Durazzo Pallavicini collection at Genoa, it is extremely likely to have been executed in Genoa for a Genoese patron.⁵  With the two cited works, both likewise dated by Brigstocke to 1616-20, the present painting shares a similar design, with two half-length protagonists placed side by side on the frontal picture plane, and each is characterised by an unusually delicate use of contrast, color and accents. There are several Annunciations listed in 17th century Doria inventories in Genoa but, as no measurements are given and the descriptions are typically vague (for example, 'Una nonciata del Precacchino...') it is difficult to identify any of the entries with extant works. However, given that, on a stylistic basis, it seems almost certain that this picture was executed in Genoa, and given that the Doria family were Procaccini's major patrons and several Annunciations are listed in their inventories, it seems reasonable to hypothesise that the present work was originally commissioned by them.⁶

1.  The others are in Leipzig, Museum für bildenden Künste, inv. no. 798; Milan, Brera, in. no. 5610; Milan, Sant' Antonio Abate; Paris, Louvre, inv. no. 1987-13; Ottawa, Galerie Nationale du Canada; Pavia, Certosa; Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie, inv. no. Ka.568; York, City Art Gallery, inv. no. 793. 
2.  H. Brigstocke, under Literature, 2006, p. 42.
3. S. Coppa, "La cronologia della cappella Acerbi in Sant' Antonio Abate a Milano", in Arte Lombarda, vol. 58-59, pp. 85-89.
4.  See R. Soprani, Le vite de' pittori scoltori et architetti genovesi, Genoa 1674, p.315.
5.  For these two works see Brigstocke, 2002, p. 191, and p. 155.
6.  For an analysis of Procaccini's links to the Doria family see H. Brigstocke, "Giulio Cesare Procaccini: ses attaches génoises et quelques autres faits nouveaux", in Revue de l'Art, 85, pp. 50-53.