Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

In November 1497 the deputies of the church of the Incoronata at Lodi employed him and Antonio Raimondi (d. late 1510s) to decorate the main chapel and to gild and colour the wooden altarpiece already installed there. This project was begun in May 1498 and completed by the end of August 1500. Between 1500 and 1510 Ambrogio abandoned his maniera grigia in favour of a brighter palette. During this period a vague influence of Leonardo da Vinci, adapted entirely to Ambrogio’s means of expression, became apparent. This can be seen especially in the four panels depicting scenes from the Life of the Virgin (Lodi, Incoronata) and the Virgin and Child with the Infant St John and St Roch (Milan, Brera).

The picture shows one of the four panels depicting scenes from the Life of the Virgin.