Master of the Prado "Adoration of the Magi"

Netherlandish, active probably third quarter 15th century

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Early Netherlandish painter, possibly the same person as Hans Memling

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Inside a church-like space with columns, pointed arches, and stained glass windows, eight regally dressed, light-skinned people stand around and look at a naked male baby held over an altar by a woman and a man in this vertical painting. The baby has wispy blond hair, long arms and legs, a narrow torso, and his facial features are proportioned like those of an adult. To our left of the baby, the woman holding the infant faces to our right almost in profile. She is smooth skinned with hooded brown eyes, a long nose, and a rosebud mouth. She wears an ocean-blue robe trimmed with gold, and a white headpiece covers her head and neck. Gold lines radiating from the heads of the woman and baby create halos. Opposite the woman, to our right, the man supporting the baby faces to our left in profile as he gazes down at the infant. Deep wrinkles line his forehead, eyes, and cheeks, and he is balding with silvery-gray hair. He wears a royal-purple, ankle-length robe over a garment patterned with stylized, ruby-red flowers against a shiny gold background. He also wears a red shoulder cape and yellow shoes with pointed toes. Directly behind the baby, an old woman looks into the distance to our left with deep-set eyes in her wrinkled face. She wears a moss-green dress and a white headdress, and she gestures with her right palm up toward the baby. A trio of people stand to our left, looking toward the central group. To our far left, an older, balding man with gray hair and a deeply lined face wears a red robe with a black hood. In his left hand, he holds a wicker birdcage shaped like a pitcher with a swelling body and a narrow neck, containing a slate-blue bird. He holds a wooden cane in his other hand. Two young women standing next to him both have almond-shaped eyes under arched brows, and delicate noses and mouths. Their blond hair is pulled back with tall, jeweled, black, gold, and red headdresses. They both wear black dresses trimmed with fur at the neckline, and sheer fabric covers their chests. The older girl, to our right, wears a gold, jeweled necklace. To our right of and behind the central trio, two men watch the proceedings. The altar seems to be placed within an arched arcade, with a view to a ruined wall and another building to our right. To our left, the gray stone wall is densely ornamented with stylized, leaf-like decorations carved along the molding and shallow gables. Beyond the altar, the building opens into a curved, apse-like space with three levels of arches and colorful windows.
Master of the Prado "Adoration of the Magi", The Presentation in the Temple, c. 1470/1480, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.28

The Presentation in the Temple

Master of the Prado "Adoration of the Magi" · c. 1470/1480 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1961.9.28

Bibliography

1928

  • Hulin de Loo, Georges. "Hans Memlinc in Rogier van der Weyden's Studio." The Burlington Magazine 52 (1928): 160-177.

1931

  • Friedländer, Max J. "Ein Jugendwerk Memlings." Pantheon 7 (1931): 185-186.

1986

  • Hand, John Oliver and Martha Wolff. Early Netherlandish Painting. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1986: 155.