The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Horizontally-oriented tempera painting depicting people with light skin tones gathered to the right of a grey-white brick tower. Directly in front of the tower, Mary, wearing vibrant blue, holds a baby Christ in her lap, Joseph at her side. Christ places his hand on the head of one of the three Magi, bent as his feet while the other two line up behind, all wearing ornate, gold garments. All of these people have solid gold halos while an entourage of people and animals extends behind the Magi. A cave-like alcove with a manger, cow, and donkey extends into a grey-hilled background.

The Adoration of the Magi

1440–45

Giovanni di Paolo

(Italian, c. 1403–1482)
Italy, Siena
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.
  • Alice Hofman, Baltimore. (Seligmann & Rey, New York).
  • Francis, Henry S. “An ‘Adoration of the Magi’ by Giovanni Di Paolo.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 29, no. 10 (December 1942): 166–168. Mentioned: p. 166-168; Reproduced: p. 162 www.jstor.org
    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
    De Fernandez-Gimenez, Elizabeth Ourusoff. “Giovanni Di Paolo: The Life of St. Catherine of Siena.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 54, no. 4 (April 1967): 103–110. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 105, fig. 2 www.jstor.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
    Sterling, Charles. “Fighting Animals in the Adoration of the Magi.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 61, no. 10 (December 1974): 350–359. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 351-354, figs. 4-6 www.jstor.org
    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
    Lisby, Darnell-Jamal, William Griswold, Matteo Augello, Alessandra Arezzi Boza, Massimiliano Capella, Luke Meagher, Stefania Ricci, and Cleveland Museum of Art. Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2025. Reproduced: p. 178, pl. 53
  • 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).
    Santa Maria della Scala, Siena (3/26/2010 - 7/11/2010): "The Early Renaissance in Siena", ex. cat. no. C.14, p. 214-215.
    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).
    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"
    Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965).
    Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).
    Paths of Abstract Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 5-November 13, 1960).
  • {{cite web|title=The Adoration of the Magi|url=false|author=Giovanni di Paolo|year=1440–45|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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