Artwork
The adoration of the kings
The adoration of the kings is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Master of the Heisterbach Altar. It dates from 1440 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work depicts the Adoration of the Magi, a religious scene centered on the worship of the Christ Child by the Biblical Magi.
The work depicts the Adoration of the Magi, a religious scene centered on the worship of the Christ Child by the Biblical Magi. The composition features the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus as the focal point of reverence. The three kings, identified as Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar, are shown presenting gifts to the child, fulfilling the traditional iconography of this biblical narrative.
As a piece of religious art from circa 1440, the painting serves to visualize the moment of recognition and homage paid to the newborn Jesus by the Gentile wise men.
Technique & Style
The Adoration of the Kings is an early 15th‑century oil painting executed on a single oak panel. The work, measuring roughly 100 cm in height and 74.2 cm in width and dated to circa 1440, depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child while the three Magi present their gifts, arranged in a balanced composition. The painting's surface is built up with oil pigments that produce a luminous palette and fine detail characteristic of the period's panel painting practice.
It belongs to the religious genre and is part of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
History & Provenance
The panel is dated to circa 1440 and is attributed to the Master of the Heisterbach Altar, a painter active in the Rhineland during the mid-fifteenth century. The work entered the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is today housed in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich. No archival record of a specific commission has been identified, and no specific inventory number or exhibition history is provided in available documentation.
Overview
The Adoration of the Kings is an oil painting from 1440 by the artist known as the Master of the Heisterbach Altar. This religious work portrays the traditional biblical scene of the Magi paying homage to the infant Jesus. It is currently part of the collection at the Alte Pinakothek. The artwork is characterized by its serene composition and devotional atmosphere.
Artist & collection
Artist
Master of the Heisterbach Altar
Master of the Heisterbach Altar is the conventional name for an anonymous German painter active in and around Cologne roughly between 1440 and 1460.
