"Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple"

Each lateral wall of the chapel comprises three rows of frescoes that function as an unfolding narrative and are read from left to right. The Presentation of the Virgin centers upon the story of the Virgin when she was brought to the temple. When she was three years old, and to the amazement of everyone, she was able to climb the 15 steps of the temple unassisted. Giotto’s treatment of this scene here demonstrates what sets him apart from his predecessors. By abandoning the stilted treatment of the figure, Giotto imbues Mary, her mother, and the high priest with a psychological depth and verisimilitude that, up until that point, had been absent from the Western pictorial tradition. Such qualities are slight, but their presence is enough to transform the figures into people with discernable motivations and feelings that are resoundingly human.