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Adoration of the Kings

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Images showing the Adoration of the Kings were particularly important in Florence, where the citizens celebrated Epiphany – the feast which commemorated the event – with costumed parades. The shape and scale of this picture suggest that it was made as part of a piece of furniture.

The vast entourage of the kings, including horses in decorated harnesses, is separated from the area occupied by the holy family (Christ, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph) by a wall with only a narrow opening. Two of the kings kneel in front of Christ; the one at the front is about to kiss his foot in homage.

Both Botticelli and Filippino worked on this picture. Botticelli was responsible for the large crowd to the left of the painting while Filippino’s starker, more elongated style of figure painting is seen in the group in the central foreground, which includes a kneeling man and the slightly bowing figure adjusting his right sleeve.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Adoration of the Kings

Date

about 1470

Medium

tempera on wood

Measurements

H 50.2 x W 135.9 cm

Accession number

NG592

Acquisition method

purchased, 1857

Work type

Painting

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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