Jan Brueghel the Elder “Adoration of the Magi” at the Colonna Gallery in Rome

Jan Brueghel the Elder, Adoration of the Magi

Jan Brueghel the Elder (1588 - 13 January 1625) “Adoration of the Magi”

Oil on copper (25.8 x 35.3 cm) 1594

Jan Brueghel the Elder depicts the Adoration of the Magi in the most classical manner, showing the poverty of the setting and the veneration of the kings who kneel at the feet of the Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus.

But that is where the respect for tradition ends. There is no donkey, no ox and no manger. The only animals present and close to the Baby Jesus are dogs, a horse and farmyard animals, while the rest of the painting shows a crowd and a fortified town with a church and a bridge typical of Brueghel's time and country.

Jan Brueghel the Elder, Adoration of the Magi in the Colonna Gallery in Rome

Jan Brueghel the Elder, Adoration of the Magi This was because the representation of the Adoration of the Magi had undergone an evolution in the 15th century, when painters began to set it in the present day.

This is the case in the Adoration of the Magi by Botticelli and Benozzo Gozzoli.

The North Star is also absent, and Bethlehem is clearly located in Flanders.

However, Brueghel respects the usual representations, which dictate that the first Magi should be the oldest and be depicted bareheaded and in an attitude of adoration, kneeling.

Jan Brueghel the Elder, Adoration of the Magi