Presentation of Christ
c. 1502
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
15.5 × 13.2 cm (6 1/8 × 5 1/4 in.)
Classification
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
4236
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Born in Ferrara, Costa studied there with Cosimo Tura before moving to Bologna in the early 1480s. He traveled throughout Italy, ultimately settling in Mantua as court artist to the powerful Gonzaga family. This rich engraving of the biblical account of Christ’s introduction to the teachers at the temple in Jerusalem is after a 1502 painting by Costa for the church of Santa Maria della Vita in Bologna. It is unclear whether this work was engraved by the artist himself or was copied by an anonymo...
About the Artist
Lorenzo di Ottavio Costa · 1460–1535
**Lorenzo Costa (also known as Lorenzo di Ottavio Costa)** was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Ferrara in 1460 and who died in Mantua on 5 March 1535. He belonged to a family of painters and became one of the leading figures of the Ferrarese school. He moved to Bologna by his early twenties, where he worked extensively for the Bentivoglio family. His early training likely occurred in Ferra...