Adoration of the Magi (Lorenzo Monaco)
Encyclopedia
The Adoration of the Magi is a tempera on panel painting by the Italian late Gothic artist Lorenzo Monaco
, now housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
.
's Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, it could have been executed for the church of Sant'Egidio in Florence, when it was reconsecrated by Pope Martin V.
Later it is documented in a room facing the cloister of the monastery of San Marco
, where it was seen by Fra Angelico
. A source from 1810 reports how the work was initially attributed to Fra Angelico himself.
It was restored in 1995.
.
On the left is portrayed the nativity scene, within an architecture showing Lorenzo's refusal of the contemporary introduction of geometrical perspective in art. The Madonna, wearing a dark blue garment with three stars (symbols of virginity), is sitting on a stone and showing the child to the spectators. St. Joseph is sitting in the lower left corner and looking upwards.
The centre and right scenes are occupied by the Magi's procession. Differently from the Gospel tradition, they are not all portrayed as old men, but with three different ages symbolizing the ages of man. Their followers include a variety of ethnicities, from the Moors to the Tatars, as well as animals such as hounds and camels. In the upper part is a landscape of Giottoesque inspiration. The garments of the standing Magi and the one next to him have writes in Arabic.
In the cusps are a Blessing Redemeer and, in the middle, two prophets. In the 15th century between the cusps were added two further prophets and an Annunciation, partly executed by Cosimo Rosselli
.
Lorenzo Monaco
Lorenzo Monaco was an Italian painter of the late Gothic-early Renaissance age.-Biography:...
, now housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
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History
The painting is known by a rather complete documentation. It was executed by Lorenzo with the help of three assistants, and, despite the reduced size, it was paid the huge sum of 182 florins. According to some hints in Giorgio VasariGiorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
's Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, it could have been executed for the church of Sant'Egidio in Florence, when it was reconsecrated by Pope Martin V.
Later it is documented in a room facing the cloister of the monastery of San Marco
San Marco, Florence
San Marco is the name of a religious complex in Florence, Italy. It comprises a church and a convent. The convent, which is now a museum, has three claims to fame: during the 15th century it was home to two famous Dominicans, the painter Fra Angelico and the preacher, Girolamo Savonarola...
, where it was seen by Fra Angelico
Fra Angelico
Fra Angelico , born Guido di Pietro, was an Early Italian Renaissance painter described by Vasari in his Lives of the Artists as having "a rare and perfect talent"...
. A source from 1810 reports how the work was initially attributed to Fra Angelico himself.
It was restored in 1995.
Description
The painting includes a large composition with a rather reduced use of the gilted background, a typical element of most Lorenzo's works. The upper part is in the form of a frame creating a triptychTriptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
.
On the left is portrayed the nativity scene, within an architecture showing Lorenzo's refusal of the contemporary introduction of geometrical perspective in art. The Madonna, wearing a dark blue garment with three stars (symbols of virginity), is sitting on a stone and showing the child to the spectators. St. Joseph is sitting in the lower left corner and looking upwards.
The centre and right scenes are occupied by the Magi's procession. Differently from the Gospel tradition, they are not all portrayed as old men, but with three different ages symbolizing the ages of man. Their followers include a variety of ethnicities, from the Moors to the Tatars, as well as animals such as hounds and camels. In the upper part is a landscape of Giottoesque inspiration. The garments of the standing Magi and the one next to him have writes in Arabic.
In the cusps are a Blessing Redemeer and, in the middle, two prophets. In the 15th century between the cusps were added two further prophets and an Annunciation, partly executed by Cosimo Rosselli
Cosimo Rosselli
Cosimo Rosselli was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento, active mainly in his birthplace of Florence.-Biography:Born in Florence, at the age of fourteen he became a pupil of Neri di Bicci, and in 1460 he worked as assistant to his cousin Bernardo di Stefano Rosselli...
.