Adoration of the Magi

The Master of the Female Half-Lengths' Adoration of the Magi is an unusually ambitious work for this painter typically associated with small-format intimate subjects. The Adoration required a larger format to accommodate the procession of Magi with their retinues, and this master's attempt at the subject demonstrates his ability to expand his compositional vocabulary beyond the half-length interior scenes that constitute his typical output. The combination of exotic figures, landscape setting, and the intimate central group of mother, child, and kneeling Magus creates a characteristic synthesis of his devotional warmth with narrative ambition.

The painting demonstrates the technical conventions and artistic vocabulary of the period, with attention to composition, color, and the rendering of form appropriate to the subject.