The Presentation in the Temple

Pietro Perugino (school of) 1450 - 1523

Summary

This panel shows Mary bringing Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to be consecrated to God. Here she meets Simeon, a devout man who had been promised by God that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. The painting shows Simeon holding the baby, illustrating the moment at which he would have said: ‘Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace'. At the same time he prophesies that Mary will be pierced to the heart through her child. The High Priest is at the altar holding a pair of turtle doves, which are to be sacrificed according to the Jewish rite of purification of women following childbirth. The Virgin stands with her offering in the centre foreground; to her left sits a female attendant, while two nuns (one of them presumably the prophetess Anna) peer from behind a pillar. In a similar position on the right are two male attendants. The Temple is decorated with classicising reliefs of dolphins and flowers. This is one of a set of four predella panels, which would originally have been inserted in the lower section, or predella, of the frame of a large altarpiece. Each panel presents a theme for contemplation. Predellas were frequently produced by studio assistants. This may be the work of a follower of Perugino.

Display Label

The Presentation at the Temple early 1500s Follower of Pietro Perugino (1446-7 - 1523), Tempera on panel Mary took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to consecrate her son to God. She also took a pair of turtle doves which she gave to the high priest behind the altar for the Jewish rite of the purification of the mother. At the Temple she met Simeon, a devout man, who had been told by God that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. This painting showns the moment when Simeon takes the baby and says: Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, and foretells that Mary will be pierced to the heart through the sufferings of her child. Henry Whitehead bequest, through the Art Fund 1947.187