The Adoration of the Magi

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The Adoration of the Magi

Artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Spanish, 1617-1682)

Place of OriginSpain

Dateabout 1655-1660

DimensionsPainting: 75 1/8 × 57 1/2 in. (190.8 × 146.1 cm)
Frame: 87 1/4 × 69 1/2 × 4 in. (221.6 × 176.5 × 10.2 cm)

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1975.84

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 36

Label TextBartolomé Esteban Murillo became the leading painter in devoutly Catholic Seville, Spain, from the 1640s to the end of his life. He painted almost exclusively for Seville’s many churches and religious orders. This painting is his only known depiction of the Adoration of the Magi—the wise kings from the east who come to worship the Christ Child. Murillo treats the subject in an appealingly human way, convincingly expressing the joy, solemn contemplation, and humble devotion of the three kings and their entourage as the infant Jesus is tenderly presented to them by the young Virgin Mary.Published ReferencesEller, Irvin, The History of Belvoir Castle, from the Norman Conquest to the Nineteenth Century: Accompanied by a Description of the Present Castley, and Critical Notices of Paintings, Tapestry, Statuary, etc., with Which it Is Enriched, London, 1841, pp. 242-243.

Waagen, G., Treasures of Art in Great Britain, London, 1854, III, pp. 395, 398.

Tubino, F.M., Murillo, su época, su vida, sus cuadros, Seville, 1864, p. 206.

Curtis, C.B., Velázquez and Murillo, New York and London, 1883, p. 167, no. 125.

Stirling-Maxwell, W., Annals of the Artists of Spain, London, 1891, IV, p. 1618.

Longhi, Roberto, The Old Spanish Masters from the Contini-Bonacossi Collection, Rome, [Bestetti e Tumminelli], 1930, no. 49, pl. XLII.

Mayer, A., "Zur Austellung der spanischen Gemälde der Sammlung Contini in Rom," Pantheon, V, May 1930, p. 207, repr. p. 208.

Suida, W., Spanische Gemälde der Sammlung Contini-Bonacossi," Belvedere, I, 1930, p. 144.

Heinemann, R., et al., The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Castagnola, 1969, I, no. 228.

Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 116, pl. 58.

"Le Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 88, no. 1294, p. 5.

"For the Record," Art Gallery, vol. 19, no. 5, June/July 1976, p. 15.

Jones, Karen M., "Museum Accessions," Antiques, vol. 110, no. 6, Dec. 1976, p. 1198, repr.

"Public Museum News: Acquisitions," Art Journal, vol. 36, no. 1, Fall 1976, p. 74 (as Crowning of St. Catherine).

Brown, Jonathan, Murillo and his Drawings, Princeton, 1976, p. 68, repr. fig. 43.

Sutton, Denys, "Otto Wittman and Toledo," Apollo, vol. 105, no. 182, p. 307.

"La Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 89, no. 1298, Mar. 1977, repr. p. 50, no. 196.

Nuno, Gaya and Juan Antonio, L'opera completa di Murillo, Milano, 1978, no. 49, repr. p. 90.

Morse, John D., Old Master Paintings in North America, New York, 1979, p. 202.

Angulo Iniguez, Diego, Murillo, Madrid, 1981, no. 227, vol. 2, p. 206, repr. vol. 3, plates 176 and 177.

Murillo, London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1982 (English edition), no. 28, pp. 98 repr. (col.), 170, 171.

Paintings in Spain 1650-1700, Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Art Museum, 1982, no. 26, pp. 87, 88, repr. p. 140.

Mallony, Nina Ayola, "Rubens y van Dyck en el ante de Murillo," Goya, no. 169-171, July 1982, pp. 95-99, repr. p. 96, fig. 6.

Wöller, Hildegunde, "Siehe, da Kamen Magier aus dem Morgenlande," Du, no. 12, 1983, repr. (col.) p. te.

Stratton, Suzanne L., Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1617-1682): Paintings from American Collections, New York : H.N. Abrams, 2002, no. 7, pp. 76, 81, 84, 87, 124, repr. (col.). p. 125.

"Exhibitions: Bartoleme Esteban Murillo (1619-1682), Paintings from American Collections," Kimbell Art Museum Calendar, March-August 2002, repr. (col.) p. 2.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 178, repr. (col.).

Valdivieso, Enrique, Murillo: Catalogo Razonado de Pinturas, Madrid, Ediciones el Viso, 2010, p. 108, 370, no. 148 repr. (col.) p. 371, repr. det. (col.) p. 102.

Finaldi, Gabrile, ed., Murillo & Justino de Neve: The Art of Friendship, Seville, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2012, fig.46., p. 84, repr. (col.) p. 85.

Bray, Xavier, Murillo at Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, Philip Wilson Publishers, 2013, pp. 47-48, repr. (col.) p. 48.

Roglan, Mark A., ed., Spanish Art in America, Madrid, Spain, Ediciones El Viso, 2016, pp. 236-237, repr. (col.) pp. 232 (detail), 236 (general section on TMA, pp. 233-239).

Rivero, Ignacio Cano, Murillo: IV Centenario , Sevilla, Junta de Andalucia, Consejeria de Cultura, 2018, p. 278, col. repr. 279.

Exhibition HistoryRome, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, The Old Spanish Masters from the Contini-Bonacossi Collection, 1930, no. 49.

Princeton, Princeton University Art Museum; Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Paintings in Spain 1650-1700, 1982, no. 26.

Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado; London, Royal Academy, Murillo, 1982 -1983, no. 28.

Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum; Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1617-1682): Paintings from American Collections, 2002, no. 7. Seville, Spain, The Museum of Fine Arts of Seville, Murillo, IV, Centenary, Nov. 29, 2018-Mar. 17, 2019.