Simeon in the Temple
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout(Amsterdam 1621 – 1674 Amsterdam)1672
oil on canvas
84.5 x 105.1 cm
signed and dated in dark paint, centeredalong lower edge: “G. V. Eeckhout fe. A. /1672. 9o”
GE-100© 2020 The Leiden Collection

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How to cite
Manuth, Volker. “Simeon in the Temple” (2017). In The Leiden Collection Catalogue, 2nd ed. Edited by Arthur
K. Wheelock Jr. New York, 2017–20. https://theleidencollection.com/artwork/simeon-in-the-temple/ (archivedMay 2020).
A PDF of every version of this entry is available in this Online Catalogue's Archive, and the Archive ismanaged by a permanent URL. New versions are added only when a substantive change to the narrativeoccurs.

The Gospel of Luke (2:22–39) tells the story of Mary and Joseph who,

Comparative Figuresaccording to Jewish law, brought their first-born son to Jerusalem “to presenthim to the Lord” (Luke 2:22). In the temple they met Simeon, a devout old
man to whom the Holy Ghost had disclosed “that he should not see death,before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). Simeon recognized theinfant as the Savior, took him in his arms, and thanked God with the following
words: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy
word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation” (Luke 2:29–30). After giving
praise to God, Simeon blessed Mary and revealed to her the first darkprophecy about the fate of her son.

Fig 1. Gerbrand van den
Eeckhout, The Presentation ofChrist in the Temple, ca. 1665, oilon canvas, Gemäldegalerie,
DresdenGerbrand van den Eeckhout’s composition shows the bearded Simeon
kneeling in the temple next to a chair on a raised wooden platform with theinfant Jesus in his arms. Gazing heavenward, he utters his song of praise(“Nunc dimittis”). Behind him stand three men in oriental attire, one of themin the company of a boy dressed in red, who holds a staff in his right hand. At
the far right, a group of five scribes are gathered around a table covered witha number of open books. The two scribes on the left turn toward Simeon,
while the other three discuss the event among themselves. Kneeling at theedge of the raised wooden platform across from Simeon are Mary andJoseph, with Joseph holding two sacrificial doves in his left hand. Behindthem approaches the prophetess Anna, her hands folded in prayer. TheFig 2. Rembrandt van Rijn, The
Presentation in the Temple, ca.
1639, etching and drypoint,
National Gallery of Art,
Washington D.C., Rosenwald
Collection, 1943.3.7103 (Bartsch49)

Bible relates that she “was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which
departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Simeon in the Temple
Page 3 of 8and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord”(Luke 2:37–38).
Van den Eeckhout portrayed this theme a number of times in the 1660s andearly 1670s. In addition to this work, other examples of his representations ofthe Presentation in the Temple are found in Dresden and Budapest.[1] Yetanother version was in the museum in Berlin until the Second World War, but
this work has since disappeared.[2] The present painting, dated 1672, is thelatest of the artist’s known versions of the theme.
The Leiden Collection painting is recorded in three Amsterdam auction
catalogues of the late eighteenth century: 1776, 1777, and 1797.[3] All threepraise the quality of the picture and commend it as one of the painter’s
principal works, noting that its chiaroscuro, draughtsmanship, palette,costumes, and emotional expression all surpass Van den Eeckhout’s otherwork. The sale catalogues of 1776 and 1777, however, wrongly assert thatArnold Houbraken mentioned this painting in his Groote Schouburgh(1718–21). Although Houbraken does discuss a painting by Van den
Eeckhout “depicting Jesus in the arms of Simeon,” it was a different work.
The painting Houbraken described was in the possession of Jakob Hinlopen,
as is evident in the poem by Jan Vos that he quotes in its entirety.[4] Vos’s
poem, however, first appeared in the 1662 edition of his poetry, that is, ten
years before Van den Eeckhout executed the Leiden Collection painting.[5]A striking detail in Simeon in the Temple is the boy dressed in red holding
the hand of the man behind Simeon, but his identity is not known. No child of
this age is mentioned in the biblical text nor is such a child featured in priorpictorial traditions. In the auction catalogue of 1776, the two figures areincorrectly identified as Zacharias and his son John (the Baptist). Zacharias
was the high priest of the temple of Jerusalem (see Luke 1:5) and, as apriest, he would not be wearing a turban. Moreover, his son John was only
six months older than Christ (see Luke 1:26) and therefore he cannot be thisboy.
When painting the Dresden version of this subject (fig 1), which dates fromthe mid-1660s, Van den Eeckhout looked carefully at Rembrandt van Rijn’s(1606–69) etching The Presentation in the Temple of ca. 1639 (fig 2).
Several motifs in the Leiden Collection painting also recall that etching,among them the disposition of the figures, with the main scene taking placein the right fore- and middle ground. As in Rembrandt’s etching, a view
opens up at the left into the depths of the temple. Other similarities include
the group formed by the kneeling Simeon and the Christ child, and the© 2020 The Leiden Collection

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prophetess Anna, approaching from the left.
This painting is one of the principal pieces of Van den Eeckhout’s lastworking years, particularly notable for the way he has dramatized the scene
by allowing light to fall on Simeon and the Christ child. He gave further
prominence to these figures through the white robe that Simeon wears andthe radiant white swaddling clothes of Christ. These two figures almost seemto glow, a visual reference to Simeon’s characterization of the Child as “alight to lighten the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32). Moreover, in contrast to otherpictures made in Van den Eeckhout’s later years, in which heexperimented—not always convincingly—with compositions featuring a few
nearly life-size figures,[7] the painting in the Leiden Collection depicts a scenerich in figures, in which the painter’s narrative qualities come to the fore.
Worthy of comparison are The Denarius of Caesar of 1673 in Lille and The
Calling of Matthew of 1674 in Munich.[8] In these small-figure works, Van den
Eeckhout displays his talent as a compelling storyteller and subtle colorist,
which made him one of the most successful and most versatile painters in
Rembrandt’s immediate circle.

- Volker Manuth, 2017

© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Simeon in the Temple
Page 5 of 8Endnotes

1. 67.5 x 84 cm, oil on canvas, Dresden, Gemäldegalerie, inv. 1638 (see Werner Sumowski,Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, 6 vols. [Landau and Pfalz, 1983–94], 2: no. 456);
Budapest, Szépmüveszeti Muzéum, inv. 3828, panel, 59 x 48.5 cm, signed and dated 1671
(see Werner Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, 6 vols. [Landau and Pfalz,1983–94], 2: no. 476); see also Ildiko Ember and Zsuzsa Urbach, eds., Old Masters’ Gallery:
Summary Catalogue, vol. 2, Early Netherlandish, Dutch and Flemish Paintings (Budapest,2000), 57; whereabouts unknown, panel, 36.3 x 31.2 cm, the remnants of a signature:
Eeck…(?) (see Werner Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, 6 vols. [Landau andPfalz, 1983–94], 2: no. 450).
2. Present whereabouts unknown, until the Second World War in Berlin, Kaiser Museum, inv.
820, canvas, 83 x 100 cm (see Werner Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, 6 vols.
[Landau and Pfalz, 1983–94], 2: no. 435).
3. See Provenance.
4. Arnold Houbraken, De Groote Schouburgh der Nederlantsche Konstschilders en
Schilderessen, 3 vols. (Amsterdam, 1718–21; revised edition published in The Hague, 1753;
reprinted in Amsterdam), 2:101. As usual, Jan Vos’s poem is very general in tone andreveals little about the work’s iconography.
5. See Alle de gedichten van den Poëet Jan Vos (Amsterdam, 1662), 360–61.
6. Ph. van der Land, Amsterdam (de Winter, B. van Keyserswaart, J. Yver), 22 May 1776, lot
24: “In het midden van het stuk ziet men den Gryzen Simion, het Kindeken, op zyne hande
hebbende, zynen Lofgezang, tot het Opperste Wezen uitgalmen; in het byzyn van den HoogePriester Zacharias, die Johannes by de hand heeft” (In the middle of the piece one sees oldSimeon holding the child in his hands, shouting his Song of Praise to the Supreme Being; inthe presence of the high priest Zacharias, who holds John by the hand).
7. See, for example, the two versions of Samson and Delilah: the 1667 version in theStaatsgalerie in Stuttgart (see Werner Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, 6 vols.
[Landau and Pfalz, 1983–94], 2: no. 465) and the 1668 version in the Kunsthalle in Bremen(see Werner Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, 6 vols. [Landau and Pfalz,1983–94], 2: no. 466).
8. Lille, Musée des Beaux-Arts, canvas, 90 x 106.4 cm, signed and dated 1673 (see WernerSumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, 6 vols. [Landau and Pfalz, 1983–94], 2: no.
486) and Munich, Alte Pinakothek, canvas, 92 x 107 cm, signed and dated 1674 (see Werner
Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, 6 vols. [Landau and Pfalz, 1983–94], 2: no.
487).
© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Simeon in the Temple
Page 6 of 8Provenance(Sale, Philips van der Land, Amsterdam [De Winter, B. van Keyserswaart, J. Yver], 22 May
1776, no. 24; sale, Nicolaas Nieuhoff, Amsterdam, 14 April 1777, no. 50; sale, Pieter Cornelis
Hasselaar, Amsterdam, 28 November 1797, no. 4).
John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute (1793–1848); (his sale, Christie’s, London, 7June 1822, no. 78).[1]Private collection; by family descent until 2007 (sale, Sotheby’s London, 5 December 2007,no. 28).
From whom acquired by the present owner in 2007.

Provenance Notes

1. It is unclear precisely when the painting entered the Bute collection. According to the 2007
Sotheby’s sales catalogue, it was passed to John Crichton-Stuart by descent and thecatalogue lists two probable prior owners from the family: John Stuart, 3rd Earl Bute(1713–92), Luton Park, Bedfordshire; by descent to John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute(1744–1814), Luton Park. Volker Manuth’s research, however, revealed three eighteenthcentury auction listings for the painting (above), which conflict with this earlier provenance.
Nicole Cook, curatorial assistant at the Leiden Collection, confirmed Manuth’s findings andsurmises that GE-100 probably entered the Bute collection at some point after 1797.

Exhibition History
Beijing, National Museum of China, “Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpieces from The
Leiden Collection,” 17 June–3 September 2017 [lent by the present owner].
Shanghai, Long Museum, West Bund, “Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals in the Dutch Golden
Age: Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection,” 23 September 2017–25 February 2018 [lentby the present owner].
Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, “The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer:Masterpieces of The Leiden Collection,” 28 March 2018–22 July 2018 [lent by the presentowner].
St. Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum, “The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer:Masterpieces of The Leiden Collection,” 5 September 2018–13 January 2019 [lent by thepresent owner].
© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Simeon in the Temple
Page 7 of 8References
Yeager-Crasselt, Lara. “Simeon in the Temple.” In Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpiecesfrom The Leiden Collection. Edited by Lara Yeager-Crasselt, 68; 177, no. 24. Translated by LiYing. Exh. cat. Beijing, National Museum of China. Beijing, 2017.
Long Museum, West Bund. Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals in the Dutch Golden Age:
Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection. Exh. cat. Shanghai, Long Museum, West Bund.
Shanghai, 2017, 78–79.
Yeager-Crasselt, Lara. “Simeon in the Temple.” In The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer:
Masterpieces of The Leiden Collection. Edited by Polina Lyubimova, 228–29; 248, no. 81.
Translated by Daria Babich and Daria Kuzina. Exh. cat. Moscow, The Pushkin State Museumof Fine Arts; St. Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum. Moscow, 2018.

Technical Summary
The support, a single piece of medium-weight, plain-weave fabric with tacking margins removed
and paper tape along the edges, has been lined. There is slight cusping along the left and rightvertical edges and a cluster of heavier-weight, horizontal threads cross the canvas width at theheight of the standing child dressed in red’s forehead and the upper edge of Simeon’s whitebeard.[1] There are numbers in white chalk along the stretcher but no wax collection seals,stencils, import stamps or labels along the lining or stretcher.
A light-colored ground has been thinly and evenly applied. The paint has been smoothly appliedalong the architecture, drapery, candlesticks, and pitcher on the altar. A fine network of drying
cracks through the elements allows a light brown underlayer to show through. The figures andforeground have been painted opaquely in a paste consistency, with low rounded brushwork
through the fleshtones and highlights along the drapery and turbans.
No underdrawing is readily apparent in infrared images captured at 780–1000 nanometers. The
images and X-radiograph reveal an additional figure that was previously located to the left of thestanding child. The figure’s head and shoulders are visible in the infrared images, and thefigure’s drapery folds are visible in the X-radiograph. A pentimento of the figure’s foot, toepointing to the left, is located along the diagonally oriented cane held by the standing child. A
radio-opaque braided “halo” is visible above Simeon’s turban.
The painting is signed and dated in dark paint along the center of the lower edge.
The painting was cleaned and restored in 2008 and remains in a good state of preservation.
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Technical Summary Endnotes

1. Located 37.5 cm up from the lower stretcher edge.

© 2020 The Leiden Collection