Presentation in the Temple

Title: Presentation in the Temple
Artist: Lodovico Carracci
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 122 x 92 cm
Date: c. 1605
Location: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

Luke 2:22-35: The time for making them pure came as it is written in the Law of Moses. So Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem. There they presented him to the Lord. In the Law of the Lord it says, "The first boy born in every family must be set apart for the Lord." They also offered a sacrifice. They did it in keeping with the Law, which says, "a pair of doves or two young pigeons." In Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was a good and godly man. He was waiting for God's promise to Israel to happen. The Holy Spirit was with him. The Spirit had told Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. The Spirit led him into the temple courtyard. Then Jesus' parents brought the child in. They came to do for him what the Law required. Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said, "Lord, you are the King over all. Now let me, your servant, go in peace. That is what you promised. My eyes have seen your salvation. You have prepared it in the sight of all people. It is a light to be given to those who aren't Jews. It will bring glory to your people Israel." The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them. He said to Mary, Jesus' mother, "This child is going to cause many people in Israel to fall and to rise. God has sent him. But many will speak against him. The thoughts of many hearts will be known. A sword will wound your own soul too."

Jesus' parents are law-abiding Jews. They show up at the temple to perform sacrifices associated with the wife's purification after birth. Such a ceremony occurs forty days after the child's arrival. The Spirit of God directs this scene, because he had revealed to Simeon that death would not come until he had seen the Lord's Christ. Promise, fulfillment and God's direction stand behind the prophecy of this old saint.

In contrast to Caravaggio, who attracted many critics during his lifetime, the Carracci's classicism was extremely successful amongst aristocratic circles and produced a school with numerous followers. Annibale Carracci headed the workshop, which also included his gifted cousin Lodovico. The scene in the Presentation in the Temple is subordinated to a geometric compositional order, marked out by the strict classical architecture of the background which structures the pictorial space into horizontal and vertical bands. The protagonists - the Virgin, the Infant Christ, the elderly Simeon stretching out his arms to the Child, the prophetess Anna with her prophecy inscribed on the marble tablet, and Joseph on the left - are arranged in an orderly way in the foreground with stately gestures and poses.

Lodovico (or Lodovico) Carracci (April 1555 – November 1619) was an Italian, early-Baroque painter, etcher, and printmaker born in Bologna. Along with his cousins Annibale and Agostino Carracci, Ludovico in 1585 was a founder and director (caposindaco) of the so-called Eclectic Academy of painting (also called the Accademia degli Incamminati), which in reality was a studio with apprenticed assistants. The Carracci are credited with reinvigorating Italian art, specially fresco art, which was subsumed with formalistic Mannerism. Lodovico's own sensitivity derived from his deep knowledge of Venetian painting. His style was composed of delicate gestures, bashful looks, and a good deal of narrative drama. Especially in his medium to small pictures this readily became lyrical poetry.

Temptation of Christ

Title: Temptation of Christ

Artist: James B. Janknegt

Medium: Oil on panel

Size: 66 x 60 cm

Date: 1990

Location: tbd.

Matthew 4:5-7: Then the devil takes him to the holy city, and sets him upon the edge of the temple, and says to him, If thou be Son of God cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give charge to his angels concerning thee, and on their hands shall they bear thee, lest in anywise thou strike thy foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, It is again written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

The devil tempted Christ to presume upon his Father's power and protection, in a point of safety. There are no extremes more dangerous than despair and presumption, especially in the affairs of our souls. Satan has no objection to staging his assaults at holy places. The holy city is the place where he does, with the greatest advantage, tempt men to pride and presumption. All high places are slippery places; advancements in the world makes a man a mark for the Tempter. Satan is well versed in Scripture and able to quote it readily. It is possible for a man to have his head full of Scripture, and his mouth full of Scripture, while his heart is full of bitter enmity to God.

This portrait of Christ’s temptation brilliantly contains the elements of his battle to resist the tempter, from the updated landscape of the “Holy city”, to the images of a tumbling Jesus in the irises of this own eyes. The predominant red hues further suggest the struggle that Jesus faces, the taunts of the devil prefiguring those cast at Jesus at his own crucifixion: He saved others; himself he cannot save (Mark 15:31).

James B. Janknegt was born in Austin, Texas. A self-confessed Jesus Freak while in high school, Jim became part of The Well, a trans-denominational coffee house where he painted murals on the walls and sang in the folk group. He attended art school at the University of Texas in Austin and graduated with a BFA in 1978. He left Texas and moved to Iowa City to attend graduate school, graduating with an MA and MFA. He has exhibited his work in multiple galleries and museums. Further of his work can be viewed at http://janknegt.eccwireless.com/

Anna the Prophetess

Title: Anna the Prophetess

Artist: Louis S. Glanzman

Medium: Mixed media

Size: 55 x 42 cm

Date: c. 2002

Location: tbd

Luke 2:35-38 records that at the temple there was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Though no details of Anna's prophecy are given, this section completes the cycle of male and female witnesses. Again, Anna's piety is underlined by references to her old age, her faithful widowhood and her regular ministry at the temple. She is full of thanksgiving at the arrival of the child who will complete God's promise, and she speaks about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. Her teaching would have been heard by all who frequented the temple. Her hope, like Simeon's, looks to the completion of what God is starting.

Louis Glanzman was born in 1922, raised in the farmlands of Virginia, and is a self educated artist. He began his career at the age of sixteen as a comic book illustrator. During the 50's he illustrated numerous children's books, including the popular 'Pippi Longstocking' series. Noted as one of America's most prolific illustrators and acclaimed portrait painters he is deeply proud of his many historical paintings. Recently, his 13 portrait series of the Women of the New Testament became the basis for a book of spiritual reflections entitled 'Soul Sisters.' More of his work can be seen at http://www.louisglanzman.com

Expulsion of the Money-changers from the Temple

Title: Expulsion of the Money-changers from the Temple
Artist: Giotto di Bondone
Medium: Fresco
Size: 200 x 185 cm
Date: 1304-06
Location: Scrovegni Chapel, Padua.

As recorded in all of the Gospels, during Jesus’ ministry he traveled to Jerusalem. Once there he went to the Temple where he chased out those people who were treating it like a market, overturning the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them,” 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'" (Matthew 21:13) The buying and selling involved items such as wine, oil, salt, birds and animals that pilgrims to the Temple bought for sacrifices. Because the Temple was a holy place, Roman and Greek money could not be used for these sales. The money-changers were there to exchange the pilgrims' money for Jewish coins.

This painting is one in the fresco cycle by Giotto that depicts the life of the Virgin and the life of Christ, and is regarded as one of the supreme masterpieces of the Early Renaissance. Unfortunately, the left-hand portion of it has been considerably damaged by damp and is scarcely intelligible. The attitude of Christ is energetic, and there is a fine contrast in feeling between the two money-changers on the right hand of the picture, one of whom shrinks away, while the other seems inclined to stand his ground. The precipitation with which the goat is leaping out of the little pen is one of those little semirburlesque touches of animal life which Giotto introduces whenever he gets a chance.

Giotto di Bondone (c. 1267 – January 8, 1337), better known simply as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence. He is generally considered the first in a line of great artists who contributed to the Italian Renaissance. His significance to the can be gauged from the fact that key figures of the High Renaissance, such as Raphael and Michelangelo were still learning from him and partly founding their style on his example. Giotto's masterwork is the painted decoration of the interior of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. This chapel, the building and decoration were commissioned by Enrico degli Scrovegni to atone for the sins of his father.