Presentation of Christ

c. 1502

Lorenzo Costa

Associated Names
Lorenzo Costa

Artist, Italian, 1460 - 1535

This is a drawing of multiple figures in robes arranged around an altar with a cloth. The central focus of the scene is a child being held in a cloth by two figures. The background features an altar with a drapery and symbols, flanked by two standing columns. Additional figures are shown in various poses - some standing, others kneeling. The figures are dressed in flowing robes and the composition is detailed with cross-hatching techniques for shading and depth. The scene suggests a ceremonial or sacred event based on the positioning and gestures of the figures as well as the central altar.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 16 × 13.6 cm (6 5/16 × 5 3/8 in.)
    sheet: 16.1 × 13.7 cm (6 5/16 × 5 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.1339

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hind 'Engravings', Vol. 5, p.237, no. 1

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1973

  • Prints of the Italian Renaissance, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1973, no. 334.

Bibliography

1938

  • Hind, Arthur M. Early Italian Engraving; a critical catalogue with complete reproductions of all the prints described. 7 vols. London: Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 1938-1948.

1973

  • Levenson et al. 1973, no.178.

Watermarks

present but not identified

Wikidata ID

Q64959852

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