 The Annunciation draws heavily on van der Weyden's 1430s Louvre Annunciation, his c. 1455 Saint Columba altarpiece, and the Clugny Annunciation (c. 1465 – 75), which is attributed to either van der Weyden or Memling. Memling almost certainly was apprenticed to van der Weyden in Brussels until setting up his own workshop in Bruges sometime after 1465. Memling's Annunciation is more innovative, with motifs such as the attendant angels that were absent in the earlier paintings. According to Till-Holger Borchert, not only was Memling familiar with van der Weyden's motifs and compositions, but he might have assisted with the underdrawing in van der Weyden's workshop. The shutters on the right are copied from the Louvre panel, the knotted curtain appears in the Columba triptych's "Annunciation".
