Presentation at the Temple (Ambrogio Lorenzetti)

Presentation at the Temple
Artist	Ambrogio Lorenzetti
Year	1342
Medium	Tempera on panel
Dimensions	267 cm × 168 cm (105 in × 66 in)
Location	Uffizi Gallery, Florence

The Presentation at the Temple is a painting by the Italian late medieval painter Ambrogio Lorenzetti, signed and dated 1342, now housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy. It is one of the largest works by the Italian medieval painter, as well as one of the five which he signed and dated.

The painting originally decorated the altar of St. Crescentius in the Cathedral of Siena, and had been commissioned as part of a cycle of four altarpieces dedicated to the city's patrons saints (St. Ansanus, St. Sabinus of Spoleto, St. Crescentius and St. Victor) during 1330-1350. These included the Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, the Nativity of the Virgin by Pietro Lorenzetti (1342, Altar of St. Sabinus), and a Nativity, now disassembled, attributed to Bartolomeo Bulgarini from 1351 (altar of St. Victor). All the paintings should represent stories of the Life of the Madonna, and were crowned by Duccio di Buoninsegna's Maestà. The use of expensive lacquer in the paintings and lapis lazuli shows the prestige of the commission.

Two 15th century descriptions mention the work as a triptych, with two side panels portraying St. Michael Archangel and St. Crescentius Martyr (who held his head in a hand) and, below, a predella. A century later, artists including Giovanni di Paolo and Bartolo di Fredi executed copies of the painting. It was later disassembled and placed in a nunnery in Siena. Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany had his transferred to Florence in 1822. It became part of the Uffizi collection in 1913.

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