Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
- Subject
- Late Gothic retable depicting scenes from the lives of Mary and Jesus
- Author, school, workshop
- Stwosz
- Contributor
- -
- Style
- Late Gothic
- Date
- 1477-1489
- Type
- Altarpiece in the form of a pentaptych
- Material and technique
- Wood/carving, gilding, polychrome
- Size
- 2,5 × 2,3 m
- Signatures and inscriptions
- -
- Identity number
- -
- Department
- -
- Links/analogies
- -
- Owner
- Saint Mary's Basilica in Krakow
- Copyright
- Saint Mary's Basilica in Krakow
- Location
- Saint Mary's altar (by Wit Stwosz) in the presbytery
- Description
- One of the apostles
Late Gothic retable depicting scenes from the lives of Mary and Jesus
Wit Stwosz (ca. 1448-1533)
Late Gothic
Altarpiece in the form of a pentaptych
Wood/sculpture, gilding, polychrome
St Mary's Basilica in Cracow
St Mary's altar (by Wit Stwosz) in the presbytery
2,5 × 2,3 m
The scene of the Presentation in the temple refers to Jesus' childhood, but also evokes thoughts of the Passion. The old man Simeon, taking the Messiah into his arms, foretells the future suffering of the terrified Mary. These prophetic words are one of the foundations of the belief that the Mother of God co-suffered with Christ (Latin: Compassio Mariae). This sorrow, in turn, proves that Mary was the Co-Saviour (Latin: Coredemptrix) of the world. The Kraków retable is a captivating apologia of the Mother of God; we must keep this in mind when viewing the individual compositions.
