El Greco painted several Annunciations, the one we see here is considered the most successful of his early treatments of the subject. The painting was executed in 1576 shortly before the artist left Italy for Spain.

The pronounced influence of Venetian painting, and especially that of Veronese and Titian, can be discerned in the sumptuous colouring and monumental, stage-like quality of the composition. The tiled floor is a typical Venetian compositional element which El Greco used repeatedly in his Italian work. The geometric, checkerboard pattern of the floor provides a counterpoint to the upper portion of the picture, where the clouds seem to be caught up in nervous movement. The colouring of the clouds contrasts with that of the Archangel Gabriel, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and the red curtain behind the Virgin Mary. These elements presage El Greco’s Spanish style.