Observations on Two Statues in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo and the Porta della Mandorla in Florence

In opposition to current belief, two early Quattrocento statues in the Museo dell' Opera, Florence, assumed to represent an Annunciation, are shown not to have been executed for the lunette of the Porta della Mandorla. Close examination of the physical structures of the statues, the principal method used for this demonstration, reveals that they were designed to be viewed more panoramically, even especially in the case of the angel, than a two-dimensionally disposed lunette would allow, and they do not form a narrative group at all. The study proceeds to develop the minimum requirements the original sites of the statues must have had, and concludes with speculations on the character and fate of the missing Annunciation group that did occupy the lunette of the Porta della Mandorla beginning in 1414.