Annunciation

A group on flickr specialising in 3000pc+ jigsaws started doing cardboard jigsaw ‘group projects’, where the group worked simultaneously on the same solo puzzle. Mike Card saw that Genest’s stack of three identical wooden hand-cuts with an unknown image could form a mystery project. This stack cut in early 2019 provided jigsaws for the second wooden mystery project. I (Jackie A) had the third jigsaw and Mike and Bob (from the first wooden group project) had the others. Our times varied significantly, 40hrs, 57hrs and my own of 96hrs.

At 1636pc this had a higher piece count than the first project (1291pc) but perhaps the image (although complex) was easier to deduce than the first. Genest cut the Renaissance art as a virtuosic extreme line-cut, without an interlocking edge. The piece shapes across the different architectural elements and textures varied wonderfully. Bob said “it's so beautiful! Genest's cut is so precise, deceptive, intriguing, rewarding. This is one of my all-time favorite puzzles. I absolutely loved working on it.”.
There is much more commentary about the build by all three puzzlers on flickr:

Annunciation group project, on Flickr.

Artist Francesco del Cossa
Date: 2019
Brand: Le Colimacon
Material: plywood
Nationality: French
Pieces: 1636
Size: 60x46.5cm
Theme: Renaissance Art
Title: Mystery Project 2 (Annunciation c1469 by Francesca del Cossa)