Presentation of the Christ Child in the Temple

The scene takes place in a columnar hall, divided into a nave and two aisles by rows of columns supporting a flat ceiling. The floor is tessellated. On the right, the Holy Family is represented arriving in the temple. Mary holds the child and St. Joseph holds a covered cup. Behind him, a maiden brings four doves in a basket. Three other figures are seen under the ring chandelier. In the center, under a fringed canopy decorated with an image of a putto, is a square altar set on a podium and covered with a cloth edged with a knotted fringe. Simeon and another priest have received the child from Mary and Joseph, who stand behind. In the left aisle, the prophetess Anna, her head covered with a veil, raises her hands in wonder. A turbaned scribe holds the Book of the Law and three other men are seen in the background. Rays of light from the upper left shine upon the central group.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Henry T. Hope, Deepdene, Surrey, England [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Pelham-Clinton, seventh Duke of Newcastle, Clumber House, Nottinghamshire, [date of acquisition unknown] by inheritance (from his grandfather); Duke of Newcastle Sale, London, July 7, 1921, lot 107; George Robinson Harding, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1921, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.