Attributed to Willem de Poorter

The Angel appearing to Saint Anne

Haarlem, Holland, about 1635-45

Oil on wood

38.7 x 29.8 cm

Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, is barren and she prays for a child.

An angel appears to announce that her petition has been answered and she is pregnant with a daughter.  The story of Anne and her husband Joachim does not feature in the New Testament; instead, it was taken from a body of writing known as the apocrypha, a rich source of religious legend.

De Poorter was born and worked in Haarlem, an important centre for artistic production in the Dutch Republic. This painting shows the strong influence of the early works of Rembrandt, under whom De Poorter may have studied briefly.

Purchased 1951 (No.51.2)