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The Adoration of the Magi

  • oil paint, panel
  • 124.5 x 112.5 cm
  • Inv. 1903-E

Public Domain

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The theme of The Adoration of the Magi comes from the gospel of St Matthew. However, the presentation of the wise men as kings is a later development in Christian tradition and became widespread from the twelfth century onwards. The gifts offered by the wise men have a symbolic meaning: gold refers to Christ’s kingship, myrrh to his human nature and incense to his divine nature. The Master of the Prelate Mur belonged to the school of Aragon and worked as a painter around the middle of the fifteenth century. The use of gold relief, which was very typical of earlier Spanish panel painting, is limited here to the goblets the magi present as gifts and a few decorative motifs on the clothing.

Artist

Master of the Prelate Mur RKD
Aragon 1450
painters (artists)AAT

Title The Adoration of the Magi
Period 15th century
Location Aragon TGN
Collection paintings AAT
Object type oil paintings (visual works) AAT
Inventory number 1903-E
Acquisition credit gift
The Friends of the Museum
Ghent
1903
Current whereabouts Work on display
Permalink https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1903-E
IIIF Manifest https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/338/manifest.json
Art & Architecture Thesaurus 300055874 religious symbolism AAT
300015636 landscapes AAT
Keywords Iconclass 11F the Virgin Mary Iconclass
11F4211 Mary sitting or enthroned, the Christ-child in front of her, standing in her lap (or in front of her bosom) Iconclass
11H(JOSEPH) the foster-father of Christ, Joseph of Nazareth, husband of Mary; possible attributes: flowering rod or wand, lily, carpenter's tools Iconclass
11Q71441 chalice Iconclass
25F animals Iconclass
25F2 mammals Iconclass
25G3 trees Iconclass
25H1 landscapes in the temperate zone Iconclass
25H113 (high) hill Iconclass
33A4 bringing gifts; exchanging gifts Iconclass
41D26511 gold-thread embroidery Iconclass
41D266 ornaments, jewels Iconclass
41D2666 diadem, tiara Iconclass
45B the soldier; the soldier's life Iconclass
46C11 road, path Iconclass
46C13141 horse Iconclass
46C13142 ass, donkey Iconclass
47I21111 ox Iconclass
47I2271 stall, stable Iconclass
61E(JERUSALEM) names of cities and villages (JERUSALEM) Iconclass
73 New Testament Iconclass
73B2 adoration of the Christ-child ~ Christ's birth Iconclass
73B55 the star appears again and guides the three Wise Men to Bethlehem Iconclass
73B57 adoration of the kings: the Wise Men present their gifts to the Christ-child (gold, frankincense and myrrh) Iconclass
73B591 (later life of) Melchior, the bearded 'Asian' king Iconclass
73B592 (later life of) Caspar, the youthful 'European' king Iconclass
73B593 (later life of) Balthasar, the 'African' (negro) king Iconclass
School / Style Spanish School
Museum van Schoone Kunsten : Catalogus ; Oude Meesters, Schilderstukken, teekeningen, plaatsneden (met geschiedkundig overzicht) / Maurice Dupuis, Georges Charles Nicolas Marie Hulin de Loo, Fritz Van Loo. - Gent : Drukkerij F. De Vos, 1938 ; Gent : Stad Gent, 1938 (p. 142)
Tableau de l'école Espagnole en Belgique / Pierre Bautier. - [s.l.]. - [s.n.]. - [s.a.]. - [s.l.]. - [s.n.]. - 1943 (p. 7)
Meester van de prelaat Dalmacio de Mur / Henri Pauwels. - [s.l.] : [s.n.], [s.a.] (p. 32-33)
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent / Robert Hoozee. - Brussel : Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, 1988 (p. 13)
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent = Museum of Fine Arts Ghent / Claudie De Guillebon, Jacques Ostier, Robert Hoozee, Monique Tahon-Vanroose. - Parijs : Association des Amis de "Musées 2000", 1989 (p. 62 (ill. 96))
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : Catalogus schilderkunst ; Deel I: 14de - 18de eeuw ; Deel II: 19de - 20ste eeuw / Robert Hoozee, Johan De Smet, Bruno Fornari, Ruth Monteyne. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2007 (dl. I, p. 126-127 (ill.))
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : De collectie (tentoonstelling vanaf 21 maart 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2021
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand : La Collection (exposition dès le 21 mars 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Gand : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand, 2021
Museum of Fine Arts Ghent : The Collection (exhibition opened on March 21th 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Ghent : Museum of Fine Arts Ghent, 2021
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