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Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
The Adoration of the Magi
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

The Adoration of the Magi

Artist/Maker (Italy, active ca. 1340-1345)
Dateca. 1340
Mediumtempera on wood
DimensionsSight: 22 3/4 x 23 3/8 in. (57.8 x 59.4 cm)
Framed: 32 x 31 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (81.3 x 80 x 14 cm)
ClassificationsVisual Works
Credit LineGift of The Samuel H. Kress Foundation
Terms
    Object number61.018.000
    DescriptionAmong the events of Christ’s infancy, the Adoration of the Magi was important from the standpoint of Catholic dogma because it was the moment when Christ’s divinity was revealed for the first time to the Gentiles, as represented by the three kings. Originally, this painting was the left-hand wing of a three-panel altarpiece in the Riminese church of San Francesco. The name given the anonymous master responsible for this charming painting is derived from the subject matter of the altarpiece’s other wing, which depicted the vision of the blessed penitent, Clare of Rimini (1262-1328). Like his Riminese contemporaries, the Master of the Blessed Clare maintained certain Byzantine traditions, such as the red couch on which the Virgin reclines, the gold striations of her gown and the robes of Saint Joseph, and the use of a hierarchical scale. At the same time, the emphasis on human interaction, clarity of space, and figural solidity show the influence of the great Florentine master Giotto di Bondone (1266-1337).
    Visual Description

    This square tempera painting adorned with gold leaf features the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus receiving a long line of visitors and onlookers, some bearing gifts. The subjects are rendered in muted colors and appear somewhat detached from the gray, rocky hillside on which they stand, not unlike elements in a collage. The Virgin Mary lounges at our lower left with the Infant Jesus standing in her lap. Across the middle of the painting, three men bearing gifts stand in a line which exits the frame on our right. Two more figures kneel and pray at our lower right, and a line of winged figures stands at the top of the painting, some looking on, others singing to the heavens. All the figures have ashen skin tone, and are depicted with halos; textured, gold leaf disks suspended behind their heads. 

    On View
    On view
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