Getty Museum
Adoration of the Magi
Creator
Jusepe de RiberaSpanish Artist · 1591–1652
All works by this person →The "young Spaniard working in the manner of Caravaggio" was causing the Bolognese artists concern, Lodovico Carracci wrote admiringly of Jusepe de Ribera in 1618. Ribera, second son of a Valencian shoemaker, had only been in Italy about four years and was already making a splash. After working in Rome and Parma in 1616, Ribera settled in Naples, where he spent his career. Ribera's art combined kn
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1620
- Medium
- Pen and brown ink with a wash over black chalk, heightened with white
- Culture
- Spanish
- Department
- Drawings
- Institution
- Getty Museum
Jusepe de Ribera chose an unusual arrangement for his powerful composition of a frequently depicted subject. The Magi, wise men from the East, and their attendants crowd into a small space around the Virgin Mary and the newborn Christ Child. As the wise man on the right kneels down humbly to pay his respects, however, the one on the left seems to stand apart grimacing. Another, at the back of the scene, impolitely turns away completely, showing only the back of his head to the Mother and Child. Joseph has already taken one of the gifts, offering it to his wife, who grabs it eagerly.
The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
Get printable QR codesHide QR codes
Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.
Related across collections
Semantically similar works from Getty Museum and other institutions.