The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 16, 2024
Adoration of the Magi
1482
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
Late medieval depictions of the adoration of the magi such as this often depicted the magi Balthazar as a black African as seen here.Description
The print belongs to a set of four engravings considered to be an incomplete series of episodes of the Life of the Virgin, which also includes the Nativity (1939.448), The Flight into Egypt (1954.260), and The Death of the Virgin (1956.744). Here, Martin Schongauer portrayed the visit of the three magi and their long retinue as witnesses to the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ as recounted in the biblical book of Matthew. The Virgin Mary is seated in front of the entrance of a stable made up from the ruins of a building. She holds the Christ child on her lap and hands him a box containing gold, the gift from the oldest of the three Kings, Melchior, who is kneeling in front of them. Behind Melchior are the other two Kings, Caspar and Balthazar, who offer a censer in the shape of a Gothic monstrance and a goblet of myrrh, respectively. At the top of the roof of the stable, the star of Bethlehem blazes.- Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-August 2, 1987).
- {{cite web|title=Adoration of the Magi|url=false|author=Martin Schongauer|year=1482|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.1070