Zanobi Strozzi came from a wealthy Florentine family. He was a close follower of Fra Angelico; according to Vasari he was Angelico's pupil, although there is no documented contact. He is documented mainly as a manuscript illuminator, but he was also a painter of panels. His work is often confused with that of Domenico di Michelino and the Master of the Buckingham Palace Madonna.
The only surviving signed panel painting is the 'Annunciation' in the National Gallery which bears a concealed signature. Documented panel paintings include a lost altarpiece in the Chapel of St Agnes in Sant'Egidio (Santa Maria Nuova), Florence, and a funerary cross for San Marco, Florence. 'A Virgin and Child with Angels' (Florence, Museo di San Marco) and an 'Annunciation' (Philadelphia, Johnson Collection) are also attributed to him. He died in 1468 and was buried in Santa Maria Novella.
Zanobi Strozzi
1412 - 1468
Paintings by Zanobi Strozzi
The Archangel Gabriel has just landed – his gilded peacock-like wings still raised – interrupting the Virgin Mary from her reading. She stares at her visitor in terror and gathers her cloak around her in fear. This is the Annunciation, the moment Gabriel told the Virgin that she would conceive th...
Not on display
Probably by Zanobi Strozzi
The unusual shape of this picture is the first clue to its purpose, and the lively literary story painted upon it, the second. It was probably made as a commemorative but also functional household object, known as a birth tray or desco da parto. Such trays were given as gifts to celebrate a pregn...
Probably by Zanobi Strozzi
Three men have followed a star – you can see it just inside the stable – to pay homage to the infant Christ. These wise men, sometimes called kings – here they all have crowns – are shown kneeling before him. One has set his crown aside and kisses the newborn’s foot, showing reverence to him.This...
Not on display