Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art


    • Icon with the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, 1400–1500
    Byzantine
    Wood, painted, with gold ground

    17 1/2 x 16 5/8 in. (44.5 x 42.2 cm)
    Bequest of Lillie P. Bliss, 1931 (31.67.8)

    Icons painted on wood were the principal objects of religious devotion in the last centuries of Byzantium. Identified by a Greek inscription as "the Purification," this icon shows the Virgin presenting the Christ Child to Simeon for the customary rite of purification at the temple. Like Simeon, the prophet Anna (between Joseph and Mary) recognized the child's divinity, as indicated by the Greek text on the scroll in her hand: "This child created Heaven and Earth."

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    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Evans, Helen C., Melanie Holcomb, and Robert Hallman. "The Arts of Byzantium." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 58, no. 4 (Spring, 2001).
    JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs
    • "Director's Note" PDF
  • Baetjer, Katharine. "El Greco." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 39, no. 1 (Summer, 1981).
    JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs
    • "Director's Note" PDF
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  • Icon with the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, 1400–1500
    Byzantine
    Wood, painted, with gold ground

    17 1/2 x 16 5/8 in. (44.5 x 42.2 cm)
    Bequest of Lillie P. Bliss, 1931 (31.67.8)