Many of the Annunciation paintings from the Early Renaissance shared similar compositional elements. One glance at Fra Carnevale’s Annunciation immediately reveals that something is different. While most of his contemporaries portray the Virgin Mary sitting or kneeling inside an interior space, in Carnevale’s painting she is standing outside in a street or courtyard.

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) has been identified as the artist of a painting missing for decades, adding another masterpiece to his impressive portfolio of religious art. The Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands’ national art and history, announced March 2 that experts have definitively proven that Rembrandt painted the “Vision of Zacharias in the Temple.” The confirmation follows an extensive two-year investigation into the technique and materials used in the painting.