The Adoration of the Magi
Artist: Fernando Gallego (Spanish, active 1468-1507)
Date: about 1480-1490
Dimensions:
H: 50 in. (127 cm); W: 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm)
Medium: Oil on wood panel
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1940.173
Label Text:If you look closely at the landscape at the top left, you can see the three wise Eastern kings (Magi) having stopped to bathe on their journey to find a newborn king. Above the castle, a vision of the Virgin Mary holding her child Jesus Christ appears in a shining circle of light, telling the bathing Magi where to find the king they seek—the Christ child himself. In the foreground, they have found the child and present their gifts.
This version of the story derives from The Golden Legend, a popular medieval book of saints' lives, written between 1260 and 1275 by Jacobus de Voragine. Only a handful of other known images of the Adoration of the Magi include the unusual detail of the vision.
This version of the story derives from The Golden Legend, a popular medieval book of saints' lives, written between 1260 and 1275 by Jacobus de Voragine. Only a handful of other known images of the Adoration of the Magi include the unusual detail of the vision.
On view
In Collection(s)