# The Meeting of Joachim and Anne outside the Golden Gate of Jerusalem

- By: Filippino Lippi (Italian, 1457–1504)
- Date: 1497
- Medium: Tempera on panel
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: width 162 cm, height 156 cm, height 112.5 cm, width 124 cm
- Culture: Italian
- Museum: [SMK – National Gallery of Denmark](https://open.smk.dk/artwork/image/KMSsp40)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark: SMK waives its rights in this photograph](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iip-thumb.smk.dk/iiif/jp2/1v53k121k_KMSsp40.tif.reconstructed.tif.jp2/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Filippino Lippi first studied under his father, Filippo Lippi (1406-1469), and subsequently under Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), whose influence is evident in the elegant figures and the linear style. The painting, which belongs to Lippi’s mature period, depicts a scene from Jacopo da Voragine’s (c. 1230-1298) Legenda Aurea (The Golden Legend). The motif We are brought into the story by a young handmaiden whose gaze meets ours directly. Mary’s parents are seen in a tender embrace, finally reunited after a long period of separation. The legend recounts how Mary was miraculously conceived at the moment of the couple’s embrace. Lippi's interest in classical Antiquity Being a true Renaissance artist, Lippi was as interested in classical Antiquity as Andrea Mantegna (1430/31-1506). In this painting, his interest is evident in e.g. the Corinthian columns and reliefs of e.g. the Golden Gate. The rest of the architecture in the background Lippi painted in a more medieval style referring to his home town of Florence, often referred to as a new Jerusalem at the time. Lippi’s Florentine roots are also demonstrated in the signature written in gold on the sill of the Golden Gate:…