Simeon Kneels in Front of Mary and Jesus after Recognizing Them (folio 40 recto), from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier
Unknown Artist
1602–4
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
image: 21.4 × 12.6 cm · sheet: 26.2 × 15.7 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
2005.145.40.a
About this artwork
Simeon had heard a prophecy that he would encounter the Messiah with his mother in the temple at Jerusalem. This painting depicts his moment of recognition that the prophecy had come true. The temple is populated by Jewish teachers and scholars, and a number of unusual visual elements. A dragon-headed vase is set by the stairs, and niches for vases flank the entrance, possibly in reference to Mary’s status as a vessel for the divine. The form of the temple itself seems to be an imaginative combi...