Adoration of the Magi
The Adoration of the Magi, a Christian scene wherein kings Melchior, Balthasar and Caspar present gifts to the newborn Jesus, was an oft-depicted subject in the opening decades of the fifteen hundreds. Set into a tripartite frame whose wings feature a text from a prayer to the Virgin, this arch-topped panel emphasizes the three magi’s glittering vessels and garments, highlighting the preciousness of their offerings to the infant Christ. Although this painting combines motifs employed by the so-called Antwerp Mannerists, an inhomogeneous group of sixteenth-century artists, certain elements of the picture suggest a more recent date of creation. Most problematic for a sixteenth-century dating is the presence of Naples yellow and the possible application of Prussian blue, which indicate that the picture was produced in the seventeenth or early eighteenth century. It remains possible, although unlikely, that the anachronistic pigments were added during a later intervention to a completed sixteenth-century picture.
Artwork Details
- Title: Adoration of the Magi
- Artist: Imitator of Netherlandish (Antwerp Mannerist) Painter
- Date: probably seventeenth century
- Culture: Netherlandish
- Medium: Oil on oak panel
- Dimensions: Arched top: 9 1/16 x 5 9/16 in. (23 x 14.2 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
- Object Number: 1975.1.122
- Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection
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