Pala di Fano (Annunciation) 1497

Pietro Perugino made this painting, Annunciation, with oil on panel, and it’s a terrific example of how material choices reflect their historical moment. It's worth noting that Perugino didn't simply dash this off in isolation. He ran a workshop with assistants, each playing a part in the production process. Some of those assistants may have been responsible for grinding pigments from minerals to create those intense colors, while others prepared the wood panel or applied the layers of gesso that created the smooth ground for painting. The application of oil paint was transformative, but the effect was not merely technical. It allowed Perugino to capture the details of the scene with unprecedented realism, giving a human face to the divine event unfolding. What might seem like just another painting from the Italian Renaissance becomes, on closer inspection, a document of material culture, a reminder that even the most ethereal visions are grounded in the realities of labor, trade, and technical know-how.