Adoration of the Magi

The Master of Hoogstraeten painted this Adoration of the Magi around 1507. This anonymous Netherlandish painter, named after the town of Hoogstraten in Brabant, produced devotional panels in the tradition of the Antwerp-Brussels school. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique. Such devotional panels served both liturgical contexts in churches and chapels and private devotional use in the homes of wealthy families who maintained personal altars and oratories.

The Epiphany scene demonstrates the detailed Brabantine workshop manner with rich costume detail and careful rendering of the three kings' exotic retinues.