Adoration of Magi

Peter Paul Rubens painted The Adoration of the Magi more often than any other episode from the life of Christ; this version likely dates from 1617-18. The story of the three wise men who visited Mary and the infant Jesus offered the Catholic Counter-Reformation artist the chance to depict a panoply of worldly riches — luxurious textiles, exotic turbans, and other royal accoutrements — with a range of human types caught up in dramatic action expressing the humbling of the world before the Church, as embodied in Madonna and child. We will note here that in religious iconography there is a huge difference between the subjects of the Adoration and the Nativity (that is, the birth of Jesus), a topic we will discuss more fully in another article.

Merry Christmas everyone! :)