The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, a large historiated initial from an Antiphonary, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Spain, early sixteenth century (after 1511)]

cutting, 140mm. by 135mm., with a large initial ‘S’ (opening "Suscepimus deus misericordiam tuam in medio temple tui …", the introit to the Mass for the feast of the Purification), formed of green staves in a classical design in red, blue and gold, enclosing the Virgin Mary handing the naked baby to the priest Simeon, assisted by the elderly prophetess Anna close to his side in the centre, with Joseph depicted behind Mary holding a small cage with two doves for the ritual sacrifice, reverse with script and music on two 4-line red staves, rastrum 39mm., some small smudges to the initial, the whole cutting darkened, the reverse with remains of previous mounting

The crowded arrangement, the heavy figures and especially the fine physiognomies’ of veiled women and bearded men are reminiscent of Northern engravings which circulated widely. The composition presents, in fact, a pasticcio of Albrecht Dürer’s famous Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Bartsch 88), which is part of a series of twenty woodcuts depicting the Life of the Virgin. The woodcuts were made between 1502 and 1510 and were published together in book form in 1511. The present cutting shows the figures of the protagonists closer together than there. The figure of the baby which was originally held by Simeon has been inverted and placed into his mother’s arms. The reading man behind Simeon and the hooded figure next to him are literal citations of Dürer’s work.