The Adoration of the Magi

c. 1400/1430

German 15th Century

Associated Names
German 15th Century

Artist

This is a painting of three crowned figures offering gifts to an infant in a manger, with a star above them. The painting depicts a scene involving figures in flowing robes, with one kneeling and presenting a bowl of gifts, while two standing figures, one offering an ornate container and the other pointing towards the sky. They are all observed by a figure with a halo, acting as the recipient of the gifts. The setting includes simple floral decor and a stable-like structure, suggested by a stone wall on the left. The style is reminiscent of a medieval illuminated manuscript artist, featuring flat, stylized figures and muted earth-tone colors typical of hand-drawn and colored religious texts or iconography from the medieval era.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut, hand-colored in red, green, and yellow

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.571

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Schreiber, no. 102

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Oettingen-Wallerstein Collection, Maihingen; Martin Aufhäuser [1875-1944], Munich, Holland, and Los Angeles; [1] Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA; gift to NGA, 1943.
[1] 1 For complete information on Aufhäuser's collection, see Rosenwald Papers, box 9, and Richard S. Field, Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts, Washington, D.C., 1965, Preface (np).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1941

  • The First Century of Printmaking 1400-1500, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1941, no. 2b.

1943

  • Selections from the Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1943-1944, pp. 8-9, repro.

1965

  • Fifteenth-Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, NGA, 1965-1966, no. 9, repro.

1977

  • Paper in Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1977, no. 1.

Bibliography

1926

  • Schreiber, Wilhelm Ludwig. Handbuch de Holz- und Metailschnitte des XV Jahrhunderts. 8 vols. Leipzig: Verlag Karl W. Hierseman, 1926-1930.

1965

  • Field, Richard S. Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Exh. cat. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1965: no. 9.

Wikidata ID

Q64953014

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