The Adoration of the Magi

This Adoration of the Magi is a late work by Cesare da Sesto, painted around 1516-1519 during his stay in Messina. It was commissioned by the Congrega di San Niccolò dei Gentiluomini as the high altarpiece of their church. When that church was suppressed at the end of the 18th century, the painting entered the Bourbon collections and was moved to Naples, where it was first displayed in the Quadreria of the Palazzo di Capodimonte and later in the Real Museo housed in the former Palazzo degli Studi. It now belongs to the National Museum of Capodimonte. The large canvas, designed to hold a prominent place above an altar, gathers around the Christ Child the Virgin, a woman and the Magi in an attitude of worship. Its scale and solemn character show that it was conceived for a church and meant to be seen from a distance rather than as an intimate scene.

Painter

Cesare da Sesto

Date

1516

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

326 × 270 cm

Museum

Museo di Capodimonte, Naples

Genre

religious art

Depicts

boy, Mary, woman, Biblical Magi, adoration, Christ Child

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