Adoration of the Magi of 1475 (Botticelli)
- Adoration of the Magi of 1475 (Botticelli)
Infobox Painting|
title=Adoration of the Magi
artist=Sandro Botticelli
year=c. 1475-1476
type=Oil on panel
height=111
width=134
museum=Uffizi
city=FlorenceThe "Adoration of the Magi" is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, dating from 1475 or 1476. It is housed in the Uffizi of Florence.
The Adoration of the Magi theme was popular in the Renaissance Florence. The work was commissioned by Gaspare di Zanobi del Lama, a banker of dubious origins and morality connected to the House of Medici, for his chapel in the church of Santa Maria Novella (now destroyed). In the scene are present numerous characters among which several members of the Medici family: Cosimo de' Medici (the Magus kneeling in front of the Virgin, described by Vasari as "the finest of all that are now extant for its life and vigour"), his sons Piero (the second Magus kneeling in the centre with the red mantle) and Giovanni (the third Magus), and his grandsons Giuliano and Lorenzo. The three Medici portrayed as Magi were all dead at the time the picture was painted, and Florence was effectively ruled by Lorenzo.
In his "Lives" Vasari describes the "Adoration" in the following way:
The beauty of the heads in this scene is indescribable, their attitudes all different, some full-face, some in profile, some three-quarters, some bent down, and in various other ways, while the expressions of the attendants, both young and old, are greatly varied, displaying the artist's perfect mastery of his profession. Sandro further clearly shows the distinction between the suites of each of the kings. It is a marvellous work in colour, design and composition.
Del Lama is portrayed as the old man with white hair and a light blue robe looking at the observer and pointing in the latter's direction with his right hand. In the picture is also present Botticelli's alleged self-portrait, as the man with yellow mantle on the far right.
The attention to details, such as the garments rendering, show the acquisition by the Florentine artists of the influences from the Flemish school at this point of his career.
ee also
*Adoration of the Magi (Filippino Lippi)
References
*cite book|first=Frank |last=Zöllner|title=Sandro Botticelli|publisher=Prestel-Verlag|year=2005|id=ISBN 3791332732
* [http://www.artonline.it/opera.asp?IDOpera=46 Page at artonline.it] it icon
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Adoration of the Magi — The Adoration of the Magi is the name traditionally given to the Christian subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts … Wikipedia
Adoration of the Magi (Filippino Lippi) — Infobox Painting| title=Adoration of the Magi artist=Filippino Lippi year=1496 type=Oil on panel height=258 width=243 museum=Uffizi city=FlorenceThe Adoration of the Magi is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Filippino Lippi. It is… … Wikipedia
The Vatican — The Vatican † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Vatican This subject will be treated under the following heads: I. Introduction; II. Architectural History of the Vatican Palace; III. Description of the Palace; IV. Description of the… … Catholic encyclopedia
Botticelli, Sandro — orig. Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi born 1445, Florence died May 7, 1510, Florence [Italy] Italian painter active in Florence. As a youth he may have been apprenticed to a goldsmith, and he later trained with Fra Filippo Lippi in Florence. By… … Universalium
Sandro Botticelli — Botticelli redirects here. For the game, see Botticelli (game). Sandro Botticelli Probable self portrait of Botticelli, in his Adoration of the Magi (1475). Birth name Alessandro di Ma … Wikipedia
Marian art in the Catholic Church — Our Mother of Perpetual Help, an icon of the Cretan school, in Rome since the 15th century, which has long been a very popular image for Catholics. Reproductions are sometimes displayed in homes or elsewhere. Archangels Michael and Gabriel are… … Wikipedia
Liste d'œuvres de Sandro Botticelli — Autoportrait Cette page est une liste d œuvres de Sandro Botticelli (1444/45 1510). Sandro Botticelli de son vrai nom Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi est un peintre italien majeur de la Renaissance de l école florentine. Cette liste est… … Wikipédia en Français
Hermitage Museum — For other uses, see Hermitage (disambiguation). Coordinates: 59°56′28″N 30°18′46″E / 59.941°N 30.3129°E / 59.941; 30.3129 … Wikipedia
Leonardo da Vinci — Da Vinci redirects here. For other uses, see Da Vinci (disambiguation). Leonardo da Vinci Self portrait … Wikipedia
painting, Western — ▪ art Introduction history of Western painting from its beginnings in prehistoric times to the present. Painting, the execution of forms and shapes on a surface by means of pigment (but see also drawing for discussion of depictions in … Universalium
