European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection The Marriage
of the Virgin, with the Expulsion of Saint Joachim from the
Temple, the Angel Appearing to Saint Joachim, the Meeting at the
Golden Gate, the Birth of the Virgin, and the Presentation of
the VirginMade in Netherlands (historical name, 15th-16th
century), Europe Master of the Tiburtine Sibyl, Netherlandish
(active Louvain and Haarlem), active c. 1475 - c. 1495 Oil on
panel Cat. 344John G. Johnson Collection, 1917 LabelThe
landscape in the background provides a single setting for five
episodes in the story of the Virgin's birth and childhood that
led to her marriage to Joseph, which is shown in the foreground.
In the upper left, Joachim, Mary's father, is expelled from the
temple for having no children. In the far distance, an angel
announces to Joachim and the shepherds that he will have a child
who will be the mother of Jesus. In the upper right, Joachim and
Mary's mother, Anne, embrace at Jerusalem's Golden Gate in
expectation of their coming par