Presentation of Christ

Lorenzo Costa painted this Presentation of Christ around 1485, during his years in Bologna before he succeeded Mantegna as court painter in Mantua. Costa's early Bolognese work shows the influence of his Ferrarese training under Cosmè Tura and Ercole de' Roberti, combined with the softer luminosity he developed in Emilia. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

Oil on panel with Costa's characteristic combination of Ferrarese linearity and Bolognese luminosity. The temple scene is rendered with spatial clarity and the warm palette that defines his early mature style.