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The Adoration of the Magi

Quinten Massys Netherlandish
1526
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 636
This intentionally claustrophobic composition is characteristic of the Antwerp Mannerist style of the first half of the sixteenth century. Finely wrought goldsmith’s work abounds. The caricatured features of the Magi and their retinue reveal the artist’s interest in the exaggerated physiognomic types popularized by Leonardo da Vinci and made available through prints. The highly individualized treatment of the African king reflects the presence of both free and enslaved Black people in Antwerp as a result of trade relations with Portugal.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Adoration of the Magi
  • Artist: Quinten Massys (Netherlandish, Leuven 1466–1530 Antwerp)
  • Date: 1526
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: 40 1/2 x 31 1/2 in. (102.9 x 80 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1911
  • Object Number: 11.143
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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Portrait of a Woman, Quinten Massys Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Portrait of a Woman
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ca. 1520
Portrait of a Man, Quinten Massys Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Portrait of a Man
Quinten Massys
The Annunciation, Hans Memling Netherlandish, Oil on wood
The Annunciation
Hans Memling
ca. 1465–70
Virgin and Child with Four Angels, Gerard David Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Virgin and Child with Four Angels
Gerard David
ca. 1510–15
Tommaso di Folco Portinari (1428–1501); Maria Portinari (Maria Maddalena Baroncelli, born 1456), Hans Memling Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Tommaso di Folco Portinari (1428–1501); Maria Portinari (Maria Maddalena Baroncelli, born 1456)
Hans Memling
ca. 1470

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