Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple

The Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple, painted by Benozzo Gozzoli around 1491 for the cycle at the Benozzo Gozzoli museum in Castelfiorentino, narrates an episode from the apocryphal Gospel of the Nativity of Mary in which the Virgin's father Joachim is turned away from the Temple because he and his wife Anne are childless. This scene opens the narrative of Mary's origins, establishing the miraculous nature of her birth to elderly parents — a story that paralleled the Old Testament narrative of Abraham and Sarah. Gozzoli, one of the most productive narrative fresco painters of the 15th century, treats the scene with his characteristic storytelling directness and clarity, organizing figures to make the narrative legible at a distance.

The architectural setting of the Temple provides a strong geometric backdrop against which the drama of Joachim's rejection is staged. Gozzoli uses the doorway as a compositional hinge, with the priestly figures on the threshold and the dejected Joachim moving into the open space beyond. Figures are described with firm, confident outlines and local colors that prioritize legibility over tonal subtlety.