The Adoration of the Magi
c. 1508/1519
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
painted surface: 124.7 x 79 cm (49 1/8 x 31 1/8 in.) overall (panel): 126 x 82 cm (49 5/8 x 32 5/16 in.) framed: 143.2 x 99.7 x 10.7 cm (56 3/8 x 39 1/4 x 4 3/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CNE-R
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Accession Number
1961.9.24
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Juan de Flandes’s *The Adoration of the Magi*, painted between about 1508 and 9, captures the moment when the three wise men present their gifts to the Christ Child. A Flemish-born artist served as court painter to Queen Isabella of Castile, Juan de Flandes brought Northern European precision to Spanish royal commissions. The work’s balanced composition and luminous figures reflect the artist’s skill at merging Flemish detail with the emerging Renaissance interest in harmonious space. Executed in oil on panel, the painting showcases the medium’s ability to render rich textures—from the brocad...