Gerard David - Adoration of the Kings - Google Art Project

Gentile da fabriano, adorazione dei magi

The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the

three Magi The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the G ...

, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

, lay before him gifts of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

frankincense Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus '' Boswellia'' in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality incense'). There are several species ...

, and

myrrh Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus '' Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh m ...

, and worship him. It is related in the Bible by Matthew 2:11: "On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another path". Christian

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

considerably expanded the bare account of the

Biblical Magi The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the ...

described in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

( 2:1– 22). By the later

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

this drew from non-canonical sources like the

Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...

Jacobus de Voragine Jacobus de Voragine (c. 123013/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the '' Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the medi ...

. Artists used the expanded Christian iconography to reinforce the idea that Jesus was recognized, from his earliest infancy, as king of the earth. The adoration scene was often used to represent the Nativity, one of the most indispensable episodes in cycles of the ''

Life of the Virgin The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the ...

'' as well as the '' Life of Christ''. Stories throughout the Middle Ages started circulating, which speculated who exactly were the three kings who were famous for visiting the Christ child. Many people assumed that they came from somewhere in the east. Eventually it was decided that the three kings would represent the three main continents at the time; Europe, Asia, and Africa. The three names that prevailed over the centuries for the three kings were Gaspar (or Caspar),

Melchior Melchior is the name traditionally given to one of the biblical Magi appearing in the Gospel of Matthew. There are many notable people with this name, or close variations. As a first name * Melchior Anderegg (1828–1914), Swiss mountain guide * ...

, and Balthasar. The prominence of this story, as well as the three kings or magi, is due to the great theological significance that the Biblical story holds, their exotic clothes and looks, as well as their great and expensive gifts. In the church calendar, the event is commemorated in

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholi ...

as the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6). The

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

commemorates the Adoration of the Magi on the Feast of the Nativity (December 25). The term is

anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

from the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

Latin section title for this passage: A Magis adoratur.

History of the depiction

Fra Angelico, Fra Filippo Lippi, The Adoration of the Magi

In the earliest depictions, the Magi are shown wearing Persian dress of trousers and Phrygian caps, usually in profile, advancing in step with their gifts held out before them. These images adapt Late Antique poses for barbarians submitting to an Emperor, and presenting golden wreaths, and indeed relate to images of

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

-bearers from various Mediterranean and ancient Near Eastern cultures going back many centuries. The earliest are from

catacomb Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

paintings and

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Gre ...

reliefs of the 4th century. Crowns are first seen in the 10th century, mostly in the West, where their dress had by that time lost any Oriental flavour in most cases. Schiller, Gertrud; Seligman, Janet (1971). ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I: Christ's incarnation, childhood, baptism, temptation, transfiguration, works and miracles,'' (English translation from German), pp. 100–114 and figs. 245–298. London: Lund Humphries. The standard Byzantine depiction of the Nativity included the journey or arrival of the mounted Magi in the background, but not them presenting their gifts, until the post-Byzantine period, when the western depiction was often adapted to an

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

style. Later Byzantine images often show small pill-box like hats, whose significance is disputed. The Magi are usually shown as the same age until about this period, but then the idea of depicting the three ages of man is introduced: a particularly beautiful example is seen on the façade of the cathedral of Orvieto. Occasionally from the 12th century, and very often in Northern Europe from the 15th, the Magi are also made to represent the three known parts of the world: Balthasar is very commonly cast as a young African or Moor, and old Caspar is given Oriental features or, more often, dress. Melchior represents Europe and

middle age In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Early Renaissance paintings of this theme, such as by Fra Angelico and Fra Lippi, emphasize the pomp and pageantry of the scene. From the 14th century onward, large retinues are often shown, the gifts are contained in spectacular pieces of

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

work, and the Magi's clothes are given increasing attention. By the 15th century, the ''Adoration of the Magi'' is often a bravura piece in which the artist can display their handling of complex, crowded scenes involving horses and camels, but also their rendering of varied textures: the silk, fur, jewels and gold of the Kings set against the wood of the stable, the straw of Jesus's manger and the rough clothing of Joseph and the shepherds. The subject was especially popular with the artists of

Antwerp Mannerism Antwerp Mannerism is the name given to the style of a group of largely anonymous painters active in the Southern Netherlands and principally in Antwerp in roughly the first three decades of the 16th century, a movement marking the tail end of Ear ...

from about 1500 to 1530. These mostly anonymous artists lived in the Golden Age of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, as it took over from

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

as the leading business city of the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

, capturing a huge proportion of the explosion in international trade that followed the development by the Portuguese of the sea route from Asia. The Magis were regarded as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

s of travelling merchants, and so international trade in general, and large numbers of their patrons no doubt came from the various international business communities from different countries resident in Antwerp. Ainsworth, Maryan Wynn et al., ''From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'', pp. 35-37, 2009, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009.
google books
/ref> The scene often includes a fair diversity of animals as well: the ox and ass from the

Nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmas season, of art objects rep ...

are usually there, but also the horses, camels, dogs, and falcons of the kings and their retinue, and sometimes other animals, such as birds in the rafters of the stable. From the 15th century onwards, the Adoration of the Magi is quite often conflated with the Adoration of the Shepherds from the account in the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascensi ...

(2:8–20), an opportunity to bring in yet more human and animal diversity; in some compositions (

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

s for example), the two scenes are contrasted or set as pendants to the central scene, usually a Nativity. The "adoration" of the Magi at the crib is the usual subject, but their arrival, called the "Procession of the Magi", is often shown in the distant background of a Nativity scene (usual in Byzantine icons), or as a separate subject, for example in the

Magi Chapel The Magi Chapel is a chapel in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi of Florence, Italy. Its walls are almost entirely covered by a famous cycle of frescoes by the Renaissance master Benozzo Gozzoli, painted around 1459 for the Medici family, the effective ...

frescos by

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festive, vibrant processions ...

in the

Palazzo Medici Riccardi The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi after the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy. It is the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence and a museum. Overview ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

. Other subjects include the Journey of the Magi, where they and perhaps their retinue are the only figures, usually shown following the

Star of Bethlehem The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" (Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, they meet King Herod of Judea, and ask hi ...

, and there are relatively uncommon scenes of their meeting with Herod and the '' Dream of the Magi''. The usefulness of the subject to the Church and the technical challenges involved in representing it have made the Adoration of the Magi a favorite subject of Christian art: chiefly painting, but also sculpture and even music (as in Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera ''

Amahl and the Night Visitors ''Amahl and the Night Visitors'' is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer.Menotti, Gian-Carlo: ''Amahl and the Night Visitors (piano-vocal score)'', G. Schirmer, Inc., 1997. It was commissi ...

''). The subject matter is also found in

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

. The first figural stained glass window made in the United States is the "Adoration of the Magi" window located at Christ Church, Pelham, New York and designed in 1843 by the founder and first rector's son, William Jay Bolton.

Treatments by individual artists

Many hundreds of artists have treated the subject. A partial list of those with articles follows. * ''Adoration of the Magi'',

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

and

Filippo Lippi Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a Carmelite Priest. Biography Lippi was born in Florence in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was o ...

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of ch ...

, Washington, D.C. * ''Adoration of the Magi'',

Bartolomeo Biscaino Bartolomeo Biscaino (1632–1657) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in his native Genoa. Life He was the son, and pupil, of Giovanni Andrea Biscaino. He afterwards became a pupil of Valerio Castello. His career was cut shor ...

, Musée des Beaux-Arts,

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

*''

Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...

'',

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on o ...

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from th ...

, Madrid * ''

'',

Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...

, Washington, D.C. * Triptych of the Virgin's Life, Dirk Bouts * ''The Adoration of the Kings'' (Bruegel),

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director of ...

*'' The Star of Bethlehem'',

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...

* ''Adoration of the Magi'',

Valerio Castello Valerio Castello (1624October 1659) born in Genoa, was an Italian painter of the Baroque period and one of the pre-eminent Ligurian painters of his time. His art drew inspiration from a wide range of sources. He painted on canvas and fresco.Mar ...

, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg *''

Adoration of the Magi (Andrea della Robbia) This depiction of the ''Adoration of the Magi'' is an altarpiece by the Florentine Italian Renaissance sculptor Andrea della Robbia (1435–1525). Andrea inherited the family workshop from his famous uncle, Luca della Robbia, who had develope ...

'',

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

* Saint Columba Altarpiece,

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pi ...

, Munich *'' Adoration of the Kings (Gerard David, London)'', National Gallery, London * ''

Adoration of the Magi (Dürer) The ''Adoration of the Magi'' is a panel painting by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), produced under commission by Frederick the Wise for the altar of the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg. It is considered one of Dürer's best and most important works ...

'',

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

*''

Adoration of the Magi (Gentile da Fabriano) The ''Adoration of the Magi'' is a painting by the Italian painter Gentile da Fabriano. The work, housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, is considered his finest work, and has been described as "the culminating work of International G ...

'', Uffizi, Florence *''

The Adoration of the Magi (Geertgen tot Sint Jans) ''The Adoration of the Magi'' is a circa 1480–1485 oil on panel painting of the Adoration of the Magi by the Renaissance artist Geertgen tot Sint Jans in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Painting ''The Adoration of the Magi'' shows the three ...

'',

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the ...

*'' ''Adoration of the Magi'', Domenico Ghirlandaio, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence *'' Adoration of the Kings (van der Goes)'', Gemäldegalerie,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

*'' The Adoration of the Kings (Gossaert)'', National Gallery, London *''

Adoration of the Magi (Leonardo) ''The Adoration of the Magi'' is an unfinished early painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo was given the commission by the Augustinian monks of in Florence in 1481, but he departed for Milan the following year ...

'', Uffizi, Florence * '' Adoration of the Magi (Lorenzo Monaco)'', Uffizi *''

Adoration of the Magi (Mantegna) The ''Adoration of the Magi'' or ''Uffizi Triptych'' is a group of three tempera-on-panel paintings by Andrea Mantegna, dating to around 1460. Their three subjects are the ''Ascension of Christ'' (86 by 42.5 cm), ''Adoration of the Magi'' t ...

'', Uffizi *'' Madonna and Child (Masaccio)'', Gemäldegalerie,

* '' Adoration of the Magi (Mostaert)'',

*'' Adoration of the Magi (Perugino, Perugia)'', Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria,

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part ...

*''

Adoration of the Magi (Rubens, Lyon) The ''Adoration of the Magi'' is a c.1617–18 painting by Peter Paul Rubens. It is now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon Since it is horizontal rather than vertical it was probably commissioned for a private collection rather than as an altar ...

'',

Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon (french: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon) is a municipal museum of fine arts in the French city of Lyon. Located near the Place des Terreaux, it is housed in a former Benedictine convent which was active during the 1 ...

*''

Adoration of the Magi (Rubens, Cambridge) The ''Adoration of the Magi'' is a painting of 1633–34 by the Flemish Baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens, made as an altarpiece for a convent in Leuven, Louvain. It is now in King's College Chapel, Cambridge, King's College Chapel, Cambridge, in ...

'',

King's College Chapel, Cambridge King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. The Chapel was bu ...

*''

Adoration of the Magi (Rubens, Antwerp) The ''Adoration of the Magi'' is a 1624 oil on canvas painting by Peter Paul Rubens, measuring 218 cm by 280 cm. It was commissioned by Matthæus Yrsselius, abbot of St. Michael's Abbey, Antwerp, as an altarpiece, and paid for in two i ...

'',

Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp ( Dutch: ''Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen'', ''KMSKA'') is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1810, that houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings from the fourteenth ...

*'' Adoration of the Magi with Saint Helena'', Palma Vecchio,

Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

*''

Adoration of the Magi (Velázquez) ''The Adoration of the Magi'' is a 1619 Baroque painting by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez now held in the Museo del Prado. It shows three kings presenting gifts to the Christ child: Melchior, who kneels in the foreground; Balthazar, who sta ...

'',

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

*'' Adoration of the Magi (Veronese)'', National Gallery, London *'' Adoration of the Magi (Sequeira)'', National Museum of Ancient Art,

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

*''

Adoration of the Magi (tapestry) ''The Adoration of the Magi'' is a Morris & Co. tapestry depicting the story in Christianity of the Adoration of the Magi, Three Kings who were guided to the birthplace of Jesus Christ, Jesus by the star of Bethlehem. It is sometimes called ''Th ...

'' by Morris and Co with

Gallery

File:Santa maria in trastevere, mosaici di pietro cavallini, 04 adorazione dei magi.JPG, Mosaic, Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome, by

Pietro Cavallini Pietro Cavallini (1259 – c. 1330) was an Italian painter and mosaic designer working during the late Middle Ages. Biography Little is known about his biography, though it is known he was from Rome, since he signed ''pictor romanus''. His fir ...

, 13th century File:Giotto di Bondone - The Epiphany - WGA09343.jpg, Giotto di Bondone, 1320–1325 File:Giotto - Scrovegni - -18- - Adoration of the Magi.jpg,

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance period. G ...

Scrovegni Chapel The Scrovegni Chapel ( it, Cappella degli Scrovegni ), also known as the Arena Chapel, is a small church, adjacent to the Augustinian monastery, the ''Monastero degli Eremitani'' in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. The chapel and monastery a ...

File:De Grey Hours f.71.r Adoration of the Magi.png, A medieval ''Book of Hours'' written for the

Grey family The House of Grey is an ancient English noble family from Creully in Normandy. The founder of the House of Grey was Anchetil de Greye, a Norman chevalier and vassal of William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, one of the few proven companion ...

of Ruthin, c. 1390 File:Collegiale-Thann-p1010095.jpg,

Saint-Thiébaut Church, Thann The Collégiale Saint-Thiébaut (Saint-Theobald collegiate church) in Thann, Haut-Rhin is one of the most ornate Gothic churches in the whole Upper Rhenish region (Alsace, Baden, North-Western Switzerland, Palatinate).''HB Kunstführer Straßbu ...

, around 1400 File:Obilman Adoration of the Magi.jpg, Nikolaus Obilman (1435–1488), c. 1466 File:Hans Memling 028.jpg,

Hans Memling Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; c. 1430 – 11 August 1494) was a painter active in Flanders, who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. He was born in the Middle Rhine region and probably spent his childhood in Mainz. He ...

, 1470 File:L Adoration des Mages.jpg,

Jean Fouquet Jean (or Jehan) Fouquet (ca.1420–1481) was a French painter and miniaturist. A master of panel painting and manuscript illumination, and the apparent inventor of the portrait miniature, he is considered one of the most important painters from ...

; one of the magi is King

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

File:Botticelli - Adoration of the Magi (Zanobi Altar) - Uffizi.jpg, Botticelli, 1475 File:Adoration of the Magi Spedale degli Innocenti.jpg, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1485-88 File:Giorgione 010.jpg,

Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic quali ...

, c. 1505 File:De aanbidding van de koningen Rijksmuseum SK-A-671.jpeg, ''Adoration'', Jan Mostaert, 1520s File:Jacopo da Ponte 001b.jpg,

Jacopo Bassano Jacopo Bassano (c. 1510 – 14 February 1592), known also as Jacopo dal Ponte, was an Italian painter who was born and died in Bassano del Grappa near Venice, and took the village as his surname. Trained in the workshop of his father, Francesco t ...

, 1563–1564 File:The Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi - Google Art Project.jpg,

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

Cretan School Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becomi ...

, early 17th century File:Velázquez - Adoración de los Reyes (Museo del Prado, 1619).jpg,

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...

, 1619 File:Rubens-adoration des mages.jpg, Rubens, Lyon, c. 1617–1618 File:Abraham Bloemaert - The adoration of the Magi - Google Art Project.jpg, Abraham Bloemaert, 1624 File:Pieter van Lint - Adoration of the Magi.jpg,

Pieter van Lint Pieter van Lint or Peter van Lint (1609–1690) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and designer of tapestries. He excelled in history paintings, genre scenes and portraits in the Flemish Baroque style with some Classisizing influence. He work ...

, 1630 File:Peter Paul Rubens 009.jpg, Rubens, Cambridge, 1634 File:Aanbidding door de koningen, Peter Paul Rubens, (1624), Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, 298.jpg, Rubens, 1624, in

File:Magi-rembrandt.jpg,

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally cons ...

, 1632 File:Bartolomé Esteban Murillo - Adoration of the Magi - Google Art Project.jpg,

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contempora ...

, 1655–1660 File:A Adoração dos Magos (1828) - Domingos Sequeira.png, Domingos Sequeira, 1828 File:Edward Burne-Jones - The Adoration of the Magi - Google Art Project.jpg,

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French a ...

, 1887 File:Magi-from-Kremikovtsi.jpg, Fragment from medieval fresco,

Kremikovtsi Monastery The Kremikovtsi Monastery of Saint George ( bg, Кремиковски манастир „Свети Георги“, ''Kremikovski manastir „Sveti Georgi“'') is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery near Kremikovtsi to the northeast of the Bulgari ...

File:Adoration of the magi st.michael toronto.jpg, Stained glass,

St. Michael's Cathedral (Toronto) St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, Canada, and one of the oldest churches in Toronto. It is located at 65 Bond Street in Toronto's Garden District. St. Michael's was designed by ...

References

External links

"The Three Wise Men in Paintings" (more than 300)

{{Nativity of Jesus Christian iconography Art depicting New Testament people

History of the depiction

Treatments by individual artists

Gallery

See also

Further reading

References

External links