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Triptych with the Adoration of the Magi, the Nativity, and the Rest on the Flight into Egypt
(Renaissance Europe )
The center panel of this triptych depicts the Adoration of the Magi, along with the Journey of the Magi. As is commonly seen at this period, the youngest magus (or wise man) is a dashing black man. Following an issue raised in the Walters' exhbition Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Art (catalogue edited by Joaneath Spicer, 2012-13), one must ask who the model for this figure was. It appears to be based on a life study, especially as the style in which the painting is executed suggest that the study was made in Antwerp. See also other treatments of the same subject by Stetter and Santacroce in the Walters.
On the left panel is the Nativity with the Shepherds Guarding Their Flocks. On the right panel is the Rest on the Flight into Egypt with the Fall of the Pagan Idols.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment | loss compensation | |
| Examination | examined for condition | |
| Treatment | repaired | |
| 1/1/1900 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 8/19/1939 | Treatment | cleaned; other |
| 8/19/1939 | Treatment | other |
| 2/23/1942 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation; coated; other |
| 2/23/1942 | Treatment | coated; cradle removed; inpainted; varnish removed or reduced |
| 11/17/1969 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation; coated |
| 11/17/1969 | Treatment | coated; inpainted |
| 3/9/1981 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 5/23/1981 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 9/1/1984 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 9/18/1984 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 3/9/2011 | Examination | examined for condition |
Geographies
The Netherlands, Antwerp (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Overall H: 29 3/16 x W: 35 11/16 in. (74.1 x 90.6 cm); Center panel H: 29 3/16 x W: 19 3/16 in. (74.1 x 48.7 cm); Left panel H: 29 x W: 8 5/16 in. (73.7 x 21.1 cm); Right panel H: 29 1/8 x W: 8 1/4 in. (73.9 x 20.9 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.248