Federico Barocci made only four etchings, with the Annunciation being his greatest and most well-known. The composition derives from his altarpiece commissioned by Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, for the ducal chapel of the Basilica of Loreto. Through the window, a view of the duke's palazzo is visible in the distance. Barocci's use of an innovative mixture of dots, hatching and cross-hatching to achieve luminosity was particularly remarkable, and proved highly influential for later artists.