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The painting comes from the church of San Domenico, Siena. The contribution of an assistant referred to as "Fiduciario de Francesco" is assumed.
This highly unusual painting was the last of the artist's youthful output. The playful gestures of the two characters are emphasized by the abundant folds of the drapery. On the other hand, the perspective of the scene is expressively deformed in order to create a dramatic touch.
Many elements in Francesco di Giorgio's Annunciation suggest an artist aware of his Florentine contemporaries. This Virgin is a close relative of similar figures in Verrocchio and Botticelli; the doorway behind, with its grey pietra serena surround, is Albertian. The landscape is also far removed from Sienese tradition, dotted about with Roman reminiscences and flanked by a fantastical crag such as we might find later in the work of Piero di Cosimo. Yet the impossibly slim pink columns rise as weightlessly as in any picture by Sassetta, the floor tilting steeply, the angel stepping forth ungrounded, the lectern about to slide.
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