The Adoration of the Magi, after Filippino Lippi

Art Historical Context

This engraving captures the timeless scene of the Adoration of the Magi, in which the three kings present their gifts to the infant Christ. Created around 1510–15 by the Florentine printmaker Cristofano di Martini, known as Il Robetta, the work reproduces a composition by the celebrated Renaissance painter Filippino Lippi. Robetta, active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, specialized in translating paintings and drawings into prints that could reach a broader audience beyond the walls of churches and private palaces. Engraving was a revolutionary medium during the Renaissance, allowing intricate details and complex compositions to be reproduced with remarkable precision. Robetta’s version preserves Lippi’s graceful figures and lively arrangement while demonstrating the engraver’s own skill in rendering light, texture, and movement through fine lines on copper. Such prints played a vital role in spreading artistic ideas across Europe, influencing painters and collectors alike. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of Drawings and Prints, this sheet offers visitors a glimpse into the collaborative spirit of Renaissance art, where painters and printmakers worked together to preserve and popularize sacred stories for generations to come.