Circle of EUGENIO CAJÉS (Madrid, 1575 - 1534). "Pesentation of Mary in the Temple, 1630. Tempera on panel. Signed and dated in the lower right corner. In need of restoration. Measurements: 81.5 x 49 cm, 97.5 x 65 cm (frame). This panel depicts one of the main scenes in Mary s life, which took place in her childhood: her presentation in the Temple. The scene is arranged in two planes, in the foreground certain figures looking at the girl, and in the background Mary is shown on the stairs, depicted as a young girl, with her hands joined and looking directly at the priest, who raises his right hand to bless her. According to the promise made by her parents, Mary was brought to the Temple at the age of three, accompanied by a large number of Hebrew girls carrying lighted torches and amidst the singing of angels. To go up to the Temple there were fifteen steps, which Mary ran up alone, despite her young age, throwing herself into the arms of Zechariah, who was waiting for her in the courtyard in the company of other Elders. Zechariah blessed her, with words alluding to her future divine motherhood, and, unheard of, led the child into the sanctum sanctorum, where only the High Priest could enter once a year, on the feast of the Atonement. He seated the child on the third tier of the altar and God then descended his graces upon her, whereupon Mary got up and began to dance for joy. Eugenio Cajés de Fuentes was one of the most characteristic painters of the first third of the 17th century in Spain and one of the mainstays of Madrid naturalism. Eugenio Caxés probably took his first steps in painting with his father, Patricio Caxés, a painter at El Escorial, where he acquired a certain Italian influence. This was accentuated after his stay in Rome, the Eternal City, from which he derived his fondness for foreshortenings and the illumination of his breaks. He was also a painter who was always interested in Correggio, from whom he borrowed the soft chiaroscuro of his works. His use of colour and combination of strange harmonies shows his knowledge of Venetian painting. He was appointed painter to the king on the death of his father, and was considered the best court artist until the arrival of Velázquez.