New Spanish school; mid 18th century. "The Presentation of the Child in the Temple". Oil on canvas.

Novo-Hispanic school; mid-18th century.
"The Presentation of the Child in the Temple".
Oil on canvas. Re-tinted.
It presents restorations and repainting on the pictorial surface.
It conserves a period papier mache frame with faults.
Measurements: 63 x 62 cm: 94 x 72 cm (frame).
In this oil on canvas of oval format, the author narrates the presentation of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, an iconographic theme very repeated throughout the history of art, within the cycle of the life of Jesus. Luke the Evangelist (Luke 2:22-40) narrates the episode, in which Mary and Joseph brought the Child to the temple and, according to custom, offered two turtledoves as a sacrifice. According to the Jewish law of the time, every first-born child was to be consecrated to the Lord, in remembrance of the slaughter of the innocents. In the temple was Simeon, an old man who was reputed to be a righteous man. When he saw the child, he was convinced that he was moved by the Spirit, took him in his arms and blessed him, saying the "Nunc dimitis" or Canticle of Simeon. This wise old man was a devout Jew who had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Saviour. Although it is true that in this work the prophetess Anna, who lived in the temple, is not present. She, contemplating this event, began to speak of the Child to all those who awaited the redemption of Jerusalem.
It is worth noting that during Spanish colonial rule, a mainly religious painting was developed, aimed at Christianising the indigenous peoples. Local painters were modelled on Spanish works, which they followed literally in terms of type and iconography. The most frequent models were harquebusier angels and triangular virgins; however, in the early years of the 19th century, at the time of independence and political openness in some of the colonies, several artists began to depict a new model of painting with its own identity.