Apse: 5. Presentation in the Temple

The fifth scene of the Mary cycle, the Presentation in the Temple, is in the apse. In this scene the architectural backdrops define the field of action for the figures and contribute materially to the structuring of the picture space. An altar together with its baldachin, stands between Mary and the aged Simeon, who cradles the Christ child in his arms. Similarly, architectural elements fill the intervals between the protagonists and the secondary figures, Joseph and the prophetess Anna. Typical of Cavallini’s picture architecture is the change in perspective, especially the combination of views from above and below in one and the same structure.