The Adoration of the Magi
early 16th–mid 16th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, over black chalk, on brown-gray (prepared?) paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 14 3/8 × 19 11/16 in. (36.5 × 50 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Daniel Ergmann Gift, 2014
Accession Number
2014.100
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Adoration of the*, a captivating preparatory drawing by Bernard van Orley, a Flemish artist of the early 16th century. Created between the early and mid-1500s, this work depicts the biblical scene of the three wise presenting gifts to the infant Jesus and the Virgin Mary—a timeless motif in Christian art symbolizing faith, kingship, and divine revelation. Van Orley, called the "Raphael of the Netherlands" for his fusion of Italian Renaissance ideals with Northern precision, likely sketched this as a design for a larger tapestry, painting, or altarpiece, reflecting his role as a cou...