The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 5, 2023

The Adoration of the Magi

1440–45

Giovanni di Paolo

(Italian, c. 1403–1482)

Italy, Siena, 15th century

Tempera and gold on wood panel

Framed: 52.5 x 59 x 7.5 cm (20 11/16 x 23 1/4 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 38.4 x 44.3 cm (15 1/8 x 17 7/16 in.)

Delia E. Holden and L. E. Holden Funds 1942.536

Location

117A Italian Renaissance

Description

According to the Gospel of Matthew, three Magi, guided by a star, found the newborn Christ and laid gifts before him. Artists throughout the 15th century elaborated considerably upon this biblical account, devoting particular attention to the Magi’s entourage, which gave them an opportunity to depict the splendor of contemporary aristocratic life. Here, the Magi solemnly honor the divine child in the Virgin’s arms, while their bustling retinue of courtiers and animals provides an exuberant visual diversion. Di Paolo was one of the leading painters in 15th-century Siena, noted both for his manuscript illuminations and painted panels supplied to the city’s churches.

Provenance
Alice Hofman, Baltimore. (Seligmann & Rey, New York).
Citations
Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1945. Reproduced: p. 48 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 393 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art, Edward B. Henning. Paths of Abstract Art. Cleveland, Ohio: H.N. Abrams, 1960. Reproduced: no. 4, p.6; mentioned: pp. 6, 20
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 59 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 59 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 1. European Paintings before 1500. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Reproduced: fig. 37, p. 102 - 104
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 67 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 262-263, no. 98
Boskovits, Miklós. Maestri senesi e toscani nel Lindenau-Museum di Altenburg. [Siena, Italy]: Protagon, 2008. Mentioned: p. 154, 240, 242
Zappasodi, Emanuele. Sorores reclusae: spazi di clausura e immagini dipinte in Umbria fra XIII e XIV secolo. Firenze: Mandragor, 2018. Mentioned: p. 96, note 141
Heisterberg, Marion. Zwischen exemplum und opus absolutum: Studien zum Abzeichnen im italienischen Tre- und Quattrocento zwischen Mustertransfer und Kopie. 2020. Reproduced and mentioned; pp. 309-310, fig. 164
Exhibition history

Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Munich (5/10/2007 - 9/16/2007), the J. Paul Getty Musuem, Los Angeles (10/30/2007 - 1/20/2008) and Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (2/13/2009 - 6/7/2009): "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art"

Santa Maria della Scala, Siena (3/26/2010 - 7/11/2010): "The Early Renaissance in Siena", ex. cat. no. C.14, p. 214-215.

Paths of Abstract Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 4-November 13, 1960).

Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).

Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art (September 11-October 10, 1965).

Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009).

Da Jacopo Della Quercia a Donatello. Le Arti a Siena nel Primo Rinascimento. Complesso Museale Santa Maria della Scala, Siena, Italy (March 26-July 11, 2010).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.536