Adoration of the Magi / Jan Erasmus Quellinus / Attributed to
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1963/2.44
- Title
- Adoration of the Magi
- Artist
- Jan Erasmus Quellinus
- Artist Nationality
- Flemish
- Artist Life Dates
- 1634-1715
- Medium and Support
- oil on paper mounted on canvas
- Object Creation Date
- 1634-1715
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Belgium (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Belgium (nation)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Style/Group/Movement
- Baroque
- Period
- Europe, Baroque (1590-1750)
- Dimensions
- 52.07 cm x 62.87 cm x 6.67 cm (20 1/2 in. x 24 3/4 in. x 2 5/8 in.)
- Century
- 17th - 18th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Physical Description
- This unfinished painted study depicts a crowd of figures gathered around three richly dressed men and a woman and child, who appear on a flight of stairs near the entrance to a large building decorated with classical columns and pilasters. An elderly bald man wearing a red cloak trimmed with ermine kneels with his head bowed at the top of the stairs before a kneeling woman who holds an infant in her right arm. Another man wearing a turban decorated with a large feather stands behind the kneeling man and holds a gold censer hanging from a chain in his left hand. A third richly dressed man stands at the bottom of the stairs with his back turned toward the viewer. A number of other figures crowd around this central group from the sides. A large ox sits in the right foreground with a donkey standing behind it.
- Subject Matter
- This painting depicts the three Magi who came to pay homage to the infant Christ, an episode mentioned only briefly in the Gospel of Matthew (2:11) but greatly embellished in art and legend over the centuries. Here the Magi, represented as kings in accord with long established tradition, appear on the steps of a grand building decorated with classical columns and pilasters. The foremost magus, the elderly Melchior, kneels before the Virgin and infant Christ, while Balthasar, sporting an exotic turban, stands behind him holding a smoking censer, a reference to the gifts of frankincense and myrrh given by the magi. The third magus, Caspar, stands at the bottom of the steps with his back toward the viewer.
- Secondary Keywords
- accessories worn on the head
- animals and creatures
- associated concepts
- clergy
- costume
- costume accessories
- costume accessories worn
- headgear
- mammals
- monarchs
- objects we use
- oil paintings
- paintings
- paintings by material or technique
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by occupation
- people in government and administration
- people in religion
- people in religion and related occupations
- people in the humanities
- religions
- religions and religious concepts
- rulers (people)
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- zoroastrian clergy
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 1209 x 921
- File Size
- 138 KB
- Record
- 1963/2.44
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1963-sl-2.44/1963_2.44.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1963-SL-2.44:1963_2.44.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Adoration of the Magi; Jan Erasmus Quellinus; Attributed to." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1963-sl-2.44/1963_2.44.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 21, 2024.