Adoration of the Magi (Rubens)
Encyclopedia
Peter Paul Rubens painted The Adoration of the Magi more often than any other episode from the life of Christ
. The adoration of the Magi (Matthew 2:1ff) offered the Counter-Reformation
artist the chance to depict the richest worldly panoply, rich textiles, exotic turbans and other incidents, with a range of human types caught up in a dramatic action that expressed the humbling of the world before the Church, embodied in Madonna and child.
The horizontal composition of the Adoration of the Magi conserved at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon arranges full-length figures across the canvas, backed by a frieze-like crowd showing a variety of mature male types, twelve in all. The oldest magus kneels and kisses the foot of the Christ Child with a tender gesture, as the Child, standing on a straw-strewn table, where he is presented by the Virgin Mary, touches the magus' bald head in a gesture of benediction. The dim stable is lit by shafts of light.
Peter C. Sutton suggested that, as Rubens' treatments of this subject in vertical formats were for known ecclesiastical commissions as altarpiece
s, the horizontal format, which is shared with Rubens' Adoration painted for the Statenkamer of Antwerp's town hall, c. 1608-09, might suggest that the Lyon painting was also a secular commission.
The painting had a distinguished early history: it was purchased by Maximilian II Emanuel, Prince-Elector of Bavaria
in Antwerp in September 1698, from Gijsbert van Ceulen, part of a spectacular group of paintings that included twelve other paintings by Rubens that are now among the Wittelsbach
works of art from Schleissheim now in the Alte Pinakothek
, Munich.
It languished as a copy until Jacques Fouquart resuscitated its reputation, recognized as a major work of Rubens, in the exhibition Le siècle de Rubens, Paris, 1977-78.
There is an oil preparatory sketch, long hidden in private collections.
Life of Christ
The Life of Christ as a narrative cycle in Christian art comprises a number of different subjects, which were often grouped in series or cycles of works in a variety of media, narrating the life of Jesus on earth, as distinguished from the many other subjects in art showing the eternal life of...
. The adoration of the Magi (Matthew 2:1ff) offered the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
artist the chance to depict the richest worldly panoply, rich textiles, exotic turbans and other incidents, with a range of human types caught up in a dramatic action that expressed the humbling of the world before the Church, embodied in Madonna and child.
The horizontal composition of the Adoration of the Magi conserved at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon arranges full-length figures across the canvas, backed by a frieze-like crowd showing a variety of mature male types, twelve in all. The oldest magus kneels and kisses the foot of the Christ Child with a tender gesture, as the Child, standing on a straw-strewn table, where he is presented by the Virgin Mary, touches the magus' bald head in a gesture of benediction. The dim stable is lit by shafts of light.
Peter C. Sutton suggested that, as Rubens' treatments of this subject in vertical formats were for known ecclesiastical commissions as altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
s, the horizontal format, which is shared with Rubens' Adoration painted for the Statenkamer of Antwerp's town hall, c. 1608-09, might suggest that the Lyon painting was also a secular commission.
The painting had a distinguished early history: it was purchased by Maximilian II Emanuel, Prince-Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II , also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and duke of Luxembourg...
in Antwerp in September 1698, from Gijsbert van Ceulen, part of a spectacular group of paintings that included twelve other paintings by Rubens that are now among the Wittelsbach
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
works of art from Schleissheim now in the Alte Pinakothek
Alte Pinakothek
The Alte Pinakothek is an art museum situated in the Kunstareal in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses one of the most famous collections of Old Master paintings...
, Munich.
It languished as a copy until Jacques Fouquart resuscitated its reputation, recognized as a major work of Rubens, in the exhibition Le siècle de Rubens, Paris, 1977-78.
There is an oil preparatory sketch, long hidden in private collections.
See also
- Adoration of the Magi (Filippino Lippi)Adoration of the Magi (Filippino Lippi)The Adoration of the Magi is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Fillipo Lippi. It is signed and dated at 1496. It is housed in the Uffizi of Florence....
- Adoration of the Magi (Gentile da Fabriano)Adoration of the Magi (Gentile da Fabriano)The Adoration of the Magi is a painting by the Italian artist Gentile da Fabriano. The work, housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, is considered his finest work, and has been described as "the culminating work of International Gothic painting"....
- Adoration of the Magi of 1475 (Botticelli)Adoration of the Magi of 1475 (Botticelli)The Adoration of the Magi is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, dating from 1475 or 1476. It is housed in the Uffizi of Florence.The Adoration of the Magi theme was popular in the Renaissance Florence...
- Adoration of the Magi (Andrea della Robbia)Adoration of the Magi (Andrea della Robbia)This depiction of the Adoration of the Magi is by Florentine sculptor Andrea della Robbia . Andrea inherited the family workshop from his famous uncle, Luca della Robbia, who had developed the technique of applying tin glazes, similar to those used by potters, to terracotta to produce sculptures...
- Adoration of the Magi (Leonardo)Adoration of the Magi (Leonardo)-Bibliography:-External links:******...
- Adoration of the Magi (Mantegna)Adoration of the Magi (Mantegna)The Adoration of the Magi is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, from 1462.Together with The Ascension and The Circumcision, it forms a triptych created in 1827 at the Uffizi, where the picture can still be seen...
- Adoration of the Magi (Velázquez)Adoration of the Magi (Velázquez)The Adoration of the Magi is a 1619 Baroque painting by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez now held in the Museo del Prado. It shows two white kings and one black king presenting gifts to the Christ child. The child in the painting, however, is not Jesus Christ but Velasquez's own daughter...