1867, from the Olivetan monastery of San Bartolomeo near Florence, it was ascribed to Domenico Ghirlandaio who, like Leonardo, was an apprentice in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio. In 1869, Karl Eduard von Liphart, the central figure of the German expatriate art colony in Florence, recognized the painting as a youthful work by Leonardo. It was one of the first attributions of a surviving work to the youthful Leonardo. Since then, a Leonardo drawing in a collection at Christ Church Picture Gallery in Oxford was recognized as a preparatory drawing for the sleeve of the angel, further supporting the attribution to Leonardo. Occasionally, some immaturity in Leonardo's painting technique is noted by art critics when discussing the spatial relationship between Mary and the desk and the marble table on which it rests. Controversy On March 12, 2007, the painting was at the center of a furor between Italian citizens and the Minister of Culture, who decided to loan the painting for an exhibition in Japan. Gallery Notes References Sources External links Leonardo da Vinci: anatomical drawings from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle - the full The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition catalog that is online as a PDF contains material on Annunciation (see index) 1470s paintings Paintings by Andrea del Verrocchio Leonardo Paintings in the collection of the Uffizi Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci Books in art Seashells in art Ships in art