Monday's "Madonna & Child" by Rogier van der Weyden

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"The Presentation in the Temple" (1455) by Rogier van der Weyden

GERMANY---Rogier van der Weyden was an Early Flemish painter, and he was at the height of his artistic powers when, in around 1455, he painted this altarpiece for the church of St Columba in Cologne. His surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces and commissioned single and diptych portraits. The "Presentation at the Temple" (above) is the right panel in the Saint Columba Altarpiece triptych. The event depicted shows the Virgin Mary presenting her newborn child at the Jewish temple 40 days after his birth as part of the purification process after childbirth, and to make a sacrifice at the temple, as tradition dictated. It was also at this presentation at the temple that the prophets Anna and Simeon viewed the infant and declared that he would be the one to bring salvation.