The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Adoration of the Magi

Adoration of the Magi

c. 1590
(Flemish, 1532–1603)
South Netherlands, 16th century
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash; traces of transfer
Sheet: 20.3 x 15.9 cm (8 x 6 1/4 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Whitehill Art Purchase Endowment Fund 2019.232
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

In this depiction of the adoration of the magi, the magi furthest back is portrayed as African, a not uncommon but by no means universal 16th-century interpretation of the magi’s origins.

Description

The drawing is a print design made to be translated to a copperplate in the city of Antwerp in the late 16th century. De Vos’s closely cropped composition brings the three magi as well as Joseph into close contact with the seated Virgin and Child. The elaborate vessels carried by the magi, including a footed nautilus cup, a silver dish, and what could be a coconut cup, are the types of exotic treasures that would have been collected by Antwerp’s wealthy inhabitants signifying their contact with foreign lands. The magi furthest back is portrayed as African, a not uncommon but by no means universal interpretation of the magi’s origins.
  • 2010
    sold, Bonhams, London, 2010-10-27, lot 20, as attributed to Cornelis de Vos , als: toegeschreven aan Cornelis de Vos
    2013-?
    with Hawley-Field, United States
    2019
    Susan Schulman Printseller, New York, NY
    December 3, 2019
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Peters, Emily J., Laura Ritter, William Griswold, Klaus Albrecht Schröder, and Koenraad Jonckheere. Tales of the City: Drawing in the Netherlands from Bosch to Bruegel. Cleveland, OH : Cleveland Museum of Art, 2022. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 170-171
    Lovelace, Carrie. “A Tradition of Endowment: History, common questions, and details.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 62, no. 4 (December 2022): 28-29. Reproduced: P. 29.
  • Tales of the City: Drawing in the Netherlands from Bosch to Bruegel. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (October 9, 2022-January 8, 2023).
  • {{cite web|title=Adoration of the Magi|url=false|author=Maarten de Vos|year=c. 1590|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2019.232