Adoration of Magi. The Adoration of the Magi is a panel painting by Albrecht Dürer, produced under commission by Frederick the Wise for the altar of the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg.
It is considered one of Dürer's best and most important works from the period between his first and second trips to Italy. The work is modest in size, just over a metre wide, however it is of great importance in Dürer's oeuvre and in the history of art.
Before the production of this work, Dürer's achievements lay largely in his printmaking career, or with his self-portraiture. This work is especially crucial in its distinction of Dürer's difference as he combines a fine balance of northern and Italianate conventions in the work.
Heinrich Wölfflin referred to the work as the first completely lucid painting in the history of German art. In 1603 Christian II of Saxony presented the painting as a gift to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. It remained in the imperial collection in Vienna until 1792, when Luigi Lanzi, the director of the Uffizi, acquired it in exchange for Fra Bartolomeo's Presentation in the Temple.
In the European image of the Adoration of the Magi, it is a common convention to represent the third king as a black figure. In Dürer's composition, this figure dominates the right portion of the painting, counterbalancing the cluster of the other four figures on the left due to his difference. This is a key fea
It is considered one of Dürer's best and most important works from the period between his first and second trips to Italy. The work is modest in size, just over a metre wide, however it is of great importance in Dürer's oeuvre and in the history of art.
Before the production of this work, Dürer's achievements lay largely in his printmaking career, or with his self-portraiture. This work is especially crucial in its distinction of Dürer's difference as he combines a fine balance of northern and Italianate conventions in the work.
Heinrich Wölfflin referred to the work as the first completely lucid painting in the history of German art. In 1603 Christian II of Saxony presented the painting as a gift to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. It remained in the imperial collection in Vienna until 1792, when Luigi Lanzi, the director of the Uffizi, acquired it in exchange for Fra Bartolomeo's Presentation in the Temple.
In the European image of the Adoration of the Magi, it is a common convention to represent the third king as a black figure. In Dürer's composition, this figure dominates the right portion of the painting, counterbalancing the cluster of the other four figures on the left due to his difference. This is a key fea
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