The Presentation at the Temple

This Presentation at the Temple by Guido of Siena, now in the Louvre, depicts the moment when the infant Christ was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem, as recounted in Luke's Gospel. The subject was an important feast in the liturgical calendar and carried theological significance as Christ's first entry into the sacred space of the Temple. Like its companion Nativity panel, this work was likely part of a narrative cycle and demonstrates the narrative ambition of early Sienese Gothic painting.

Executed in tempera and gold on panel, the painting arranges the figures within a simplified architectural setting that suggests the Temple interior. Guido's characteristic warm palette and the formal, processional arrangement of figures reflect the transitional style between Byzantine and Gothic conventions.