Master of the Life of the Virgin, 'The Presentation in the Temple', probably about 1460-75
About the work
Overview
The priest Simeon is shown receiving the infant Christ from the Virgin Mary in front of an elaborate altar. The scene is based on a passage in the Gospel of Luke (2:22–40), which describes Mary and Joseph’s visit to the temple in Jerusalem for the rituals of Mary’s purification and of Christ’s presentation to God.
Simeon recognised Christ’s divinity upon seeing him, saying ‘Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation’ (Luke 2: 29–30). The embroidery on his cope shows the Roman Emperor Augustus having a vision of the Virgin and Child – a decisive experience which made the ruler recognise that their spiritual power was greater than his.
This painting, along with seven other panels now in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich, once formed part of the central panel of an altarpiece made for the church of Saint Ursula in Cologne. It was commissioned by Dr Johann von Hirtz, a councillor in the city.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Presentation in the Temple
- Artist dates
- active second half of the 15th century
- Date made
- probably about 1460-75
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 83.8 × 108.6 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Queen Victoria at the Prince Consort's wish, 1863
- Inventory number
- NG706
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
- Frame
- 20th-century Replica Frame
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Susan Foister, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800’, London 2024; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2011Devotion by Design: Italian Altarpieces before 1500The National Gallery (London)6 July 2011 - 2 October 2011
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2014Strange Beauty: Masters of the German RenaissanceThe National Gallery (London)19 February 2014 - 11 May 2014
Bibliography
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1854G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], vol. 2, trans. E. Eastlake, London 1854
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1857G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], translated from German by Elizabeth Eastlake, 3 vols, London 1857, vol. 3
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1902C. Aldenhoven, Geschichte der Kölner Malerschule, Lübeck 1902
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1926O. Förster, 'Der Linzer Altar und die Frühwerke des "Meisters des Marienlebens"', Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch, III-IV, 1926, pp. 152-73
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1934A. Stange, Deutsche Malerei der Gotik, 11 vols, Munich 1934
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1946D. Shorr, 'The Iconographic Development of the Presentation in the Temple', Art Bulletin, 1946, pp. 17-32
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1959Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Schools, London 1959
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1967A. Stange, Der deutschen Tafelbilder vor Dürer. Kritisches Verzeichnis, Munich 1967
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1972G. Goldberg and G. Scheffler, Alte Pinakothek, Munich: Altdeutsche Gemälde Köln und Nordwestdeutschland, Munich 1972
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1976S.M. Newton, 'A Confraternity of the Holy Ghost and a Series of Paintings of the Life of the Virgin in London and Munich', Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, XXXIX, 1976, pp. 59-68
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1977A. Smith, Late Gothic Art from Cologne (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 5 April - 1 June 1977), London 1977
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1978H.M. Schmidt, Der Meister des Marienlebens und sein Kreis. Studien zur spätgotischen Malerei in Köln, Düsseldorf 1978
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1985A. Smith, Early Netherlandish and German Paintings, London 1985
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1986R. Budde, Köln und seine Maler 1300-1500, Cologne 1986
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1991J. Dunkerton et al., Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery, New Haven 1991
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1997R. Billinge et al., 'Methods and Materials of Northern European Painting in the National Gallery, 1400–1550', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XVIII, 1997, pp. 6-52
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2007S. Foister, Art of Light: German Renaissance Stained Glass (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 7 November 2007 - 17 February 2008), London 2007
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2024S. Foister, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800, 2 vols, London 2024
Frame
This twentieth-century reproduction pinewood frame was made in 1975 at the Gallery, in the Gothic style. The moulding features pierced spandrels and a sill. The frame is water-gilded and bordered with a black painted outer edge, a characteristic often observed in frames with shutters.
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.