The Adoration of the Magi

c.1525

Biagio Pupini

Associated Names
Biagio Pupini

Artist, Bolognese, active 1511 - 1551

This is a drawing of a group of figures gathered around a central seated figure with a child. The image depicts a scene where several figures are gathered around a seated figure who is holding a child. The drawing uses a combination of brown and white ink and washes, creating a monochrome effect that emphasizes the contours and forms of the figures. The use of light and shadow adds depth, enhancing the three-dimensionality of the composition. Delicate details and careful shading imply movement and emotion among the figures. The setting appears to be indoors, suggested by architectural elements in the background. The style suggests it may be from a Renaissance or Baroque period, with dynamic figures and dramatic gestures.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink with brown and gray wash, heightened with white gouache on blue laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Patrons' Permanent Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 22.8 x 20.4 cm (9 x 8 1/16 in.), including a 15 mm strip added along lower edge

  • Accession Number

    2007.111.148

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Jonathan Richardson, Sr., London (1665 - 1745)(Lugt 2184); Sir Thomas Lawrence. Sir J. C. Robinson, London (1824 - 1913) (Lugt 1433). John Malcolm [1805-1893], Poltalloch; The Hon. A. E. Gathorne-Hardy; Geoffrey Gathorne-Hardy; the Hon. Robert Gathorne-Hardy; (his sale, Sotheby's London, 24 November 1976, no. 15); Wolfgang Ratjen, Munich; purchased by NGA, 2007

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1969

  • Italian 16th-Century Drawings from British Private Collections, The Merchants' Hall, Edinburgh, 1969, 34, no. 71.

1971

  • Loan Exhibition of Drawings by Old Masters from the Collection of Mr. Geoffrey Gathorne-Hardy, P. & D. Colanaghi, Ltd., London; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1971 and 1972, no. 23, pl. XVII.

1977

  • Stiftung Ratjen. Italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts. Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich; Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin; Kunsthalle, Hamburg; Kunstmuseum, Dusseldorf; Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart. Munich, 1977, 144, no. 66 (entry by Richard Harprath).

1979

  • Zeichnungen Italienischer Meister aus den Sammlungen Schloss Fachsenfeld, Stiftung Ratjen Vaduz, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München. Kunstmuseum Lucerne, 1979, 26, no. 37.

1992

  • Drawing in Bologna, 1500-1600. Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, no. 48.

1995

  • Fünfzig italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts aus der Stiftung Ratjen, Vaduz. Liechtensteinischen Staatlichen Kunstsammlung, Vaduz. Bern, 1995, no. 12.

1996

  • Italian Drawings from the Ratjen Foundation, Vaduz. The Frick Collection, New York. Bern, 1996, no. 12.

2011

  • Italian Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1525-1835, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2011, no. 2.

Bibliography

1869

  • Robinson, J. C. Descriptive Catalogue of the Drawings by the Old Masters, Forming the Collection of John Malcolm of Poltalloch, Esq.. London, 1869: 97, no. 231.

1902

  • Descriptive Catalogue of Drawings ... in the Possession of the Hon. A. E. Gathorne-Hardy. London, 1902: no. 19.

2001

  • Un siècle de dessin à Bologne, 1480-1580: De la Renaissance à la réforme tridentine. Musée du Louvre. Paris, 2001: 65, under no 16 (entry by Marzia Faietti)(Italian ed: Il Cinquecento a Bologna: Disegni dal Louvre e dipinti a confronto. Pinacoteca Nazionale e Sale delle Belle Arti, Bologna. Milan, 2002).

2009

  • Turner, Nicholas. Drawn to Italian Drawings: The Goldman Collection. The Art Institute of Chicago. New Haven and London, 2009: 73, 303, under no. 21.

Wikidata ID

Q64537658

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