Title

The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple

Maestro de Burgos (?, ca. 1425 - ?, ?)

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

This painting has been attributed to various artists: Post (1933) believed it to be a work by the Master of Budapest; however, the museum attributed it to the Master of Burgos. The latter hypothesis is based on a stylistic comparison of the paintings by the Master of Burgos and the one in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. Post (1933) mentions that the Master of Burgos painted several panels on the life of the Virgin, although he does not specify their intended location, nor does he reference the scene housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. However, the human figures present in the Nativity of the Virgin and the Annunciation align with those in the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, as do the dimensions of the panels. Therefore, it is plausible to consider that they belonged to the same set. According to Post (1933), these paintings ended up in the hands of Raimundo Ruiz, an art dealer who specialised in selling artworks abroad, in 1925 (Martínez Ruiz, 2020). It is likely that this piece was put up for sale at that time along with the others and left Spain in the 1920s, as we know it was purchased by the Hungarian painter József Ede Balló, who spent some time living in Madrid (Garas, Genthon y Takács, 1966). However, it remains unclear whether the piece was acquired by the Hungarian state after Balló's death or if it passed through other hands before ending up first in the Hungarian National Gallery and later in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. 

Description

In the foreground, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, the parents of the Virgin, are depicted accompanying their daughter, who is positioned at the center of the composition beneath architecture with classical elements that resemble the Renaissance. The staircase leading to the temple suggests a treatment of perspective that lies halfway between the medieval period and the early modern era.

Locations

• ca. 1465 - ca. 1925

  region

  Possible origin from Castile and Leon, Castilla y León (Spain)

• ca. 1925

  dealer/antiquarian

  Raimundo Ruiz, Madrid (Spain) *

• ca. 1925 - ca. 1936

  private collection

  József Ede Balló, Budapest (Hungary) *

• Second quarter of the XX^th c. - Second half of the XX^th c.

  museum

  Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest (Hungary)

• Second half of the XX^th c. - present

  museum

  Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest (Hungary)