The Adoration of the Magi Altarpiece (also known as ''Dombild Altarpiece'', or ''Kölner Dombild''; German for "Cologne cathedral picture/painting") is a painted

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

by the German artist

Stefan Lochner Stefan Lochner (the ''Dombild Master'' or ''Master Stefan''; c. 1410 – late 1451) was a German painter working in the late International Gothic period. His paintings combine that era's tendency toward long flowing lines and brilliant colours ...

, created ''c.'' 1440–1442. Originally painted for the council-chapel St. Maria in Jerusalem in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, it was moved to

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...

in 1810 and is now in that church's Marienkapelle, south of the choir. It is also known as the ''Three Kings Altarpiece'' (''Dreikönigsaltar'') and the ''Patron Saints of Cologne Altarpiece'' (''Altar der Kölner Stadtpatrone'').

History

The first written mention of the painting is in the travel diaries of

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

, who saw it in 1520 whilst he was en route to the Netherlands, noting that he paid two Weißpfennig to see a painting by "Master Steffan of Cologne". The altarpiece's original location, St. Maria in Jerusalem, replaced a former Jewish

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

. This happened the year after the expulsion of all Jews from Cologne in 1423, and an earlier 1349

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

that had damaged the synagogue. The altarpiece originally sat on the stone base used to support the synagogue's

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''hekhal'', , or ''aron qodesh'', ) is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark is also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' () or ''aron ha-Kod ...

. On 3 April 2025, the Cologne Cathedral announced that a mural by Andrea Büttner would soon be painted on the wall behind the Adoration of the Magi Altarpiece. Büttner designed a life-size realistic painting of the Torah ark's stone base that the altarpiece had rested on, but now painted so the base appears to float above the altarpiece. The mural is designed to counter the overwriting of Jewish history in Cologne, and was the winner of the Cologne Cathedral International Art Competition, which aimed to add art on Jewish-Christian relations to the cathedral. Büttner stated that she wanted her piece to "take something that has been hidden from the cathedral's visitors up to now and have it openly displayed in a central location."

Imagery

The altarpiece centres on the

Three Kings In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...

, whose relics were in Cologne. The central panel is 260 x 285 cm, whilst each of the side panels is 260 by 142 cm. On the left panel is

Ursula of Cologne Ursula (Latin for 'little she-bear') was a Romano-British culture, Romano-British Virgin (title), virgin and martyr possibly of royal origin. She is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Co ...

with some of the 11,000 virgins with whom she was martyred, and on the right panel is St Gereon of Cologne. When the altarpiece is closed, the reverse of the two side panels show an

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

scene.

Legacy

German writers referenced the altarpiece once it had been moved to the Cologne Cathedral.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

wrote about the altarpiece several times, believing it to be one of the most important pieces of art from the middle ages.

Johanna Schopenhauer Johanna Schopenhauer (née Trosiener; 9 July 1766 – 17 April 1838) was a German writer and '' salonnière''. She was the mother of the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and author Adele Schopenhauer. Biography Johanna Schopenhauer was born ...

also named it a masterpiece, writing that its painter earned immortality.

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

referenced the altarpiece and Cologne Cathedral in an 1822 poem, later composed into a song by

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

References

Sources

* Chapuis, Julien. ''Stefan Lochner: Image Making in Fifteenth-Century Cologne''. Turnhout: Brepols, 2004. * Krüger, Renate. ''Old German Panel Painting''. Berlin, 1974 * Wellesz, Emmy; Rothenstein, John (ed). ''Stephan Lochner''. London: Fratelli Fabbri, 1963

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dombild Altarpiece 1440s paintings Paintings by Stefan Lochner Cologne Cathedral Culture in Cologne

Lochner ''Lochner v. New York'', 198 U.S. 45 (1905), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court holding that a New York State statute that prescribed maximum working hours for bakers violated the bakers' right to freedom of contract under the ...

Triptychs Paintings of the Annunciation Paintings of Saint Ursula