The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 26, 2024

Simeon Kneels in Front of Mary and Jesus After Recognizing Them, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier

Simeon Kneels in Front of Mary and Jesus After Recognizing Them, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier

1602–4
(1569–1627)
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Sheet: 26.2 x 15.7 cm (10 5/16 x 6 3/16 in.); Image: 21.4 x 12.6 cm (8 7/16 x 4 15/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2005.145.40.a
Location: not on view

Description

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; curled dogs and a kneeling figure are carved like bas-reliefs into the pillars of the temple, which also has niches for vases. The form of the temple itself seems to be an imaginative combination of Hindu temple and Mughal palace architecture.
  • Before 1930s-2005
    An Indian family in Great Britain, whose grandfather brought the manuscript to England in the 1930s or 1940s through 2005
    May 3, 2001
    (Sotheby's, London, 3 May 2001 sale, lot 74.) Unsold.
    2005
    (Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch Ltd., London, UK, 2005, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2005-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2005-present
  • Sotheby's (Firm). Arts of the Islamic World: Including 20th Century Middle Eastern Painting. London: Sotheby's, 2001. Mentioned and Reproduced: lot no. 75, p. 77
    Carvalho, Pedro de Moura, and W. M. Thackston. Mirʼāt al-quds (Mirror of holiness): a life of Christ for Emperor Akbar: a commentary on Father Jerome Xavier's text and the miniatures of Cleveland Museum of Art, Acc. no. 2005.145. Leiden: Brill, 2012.
  • Prince Salim's Life of Christ (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (December 2, 2019-July 1, 2020).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 5-April 27, 2015).
  • {{cite web|title=Simeon Kneels in Front of Mary and Jesus After Recognizing Them, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier|url=false|author=|year=1602–4|access-date=26 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2005.145.40.a