The Adoration of the Magi (1440–45): Art, History and Details

The Adoration of the Magi (1440–45) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Giovanni di Paolo (Italian, c. 1403–1482).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

According to the Gospel of Matthew, three Magi, guided by a star, found the newborn Christ and laid gifts before him. Artists throughout the 15th century elaborated considerably upon this biblical account, devoting particular attention to the Magi’s entourage, which gave them an opportunity to depict the splendor of contemporary aristocratic life. Here, the Magi solemnly honor the divine child in the Virgin’s arms, while their bustling retinue of courtiers and animals provides an exuberant visual diversion. Di Paolo was one of the leading painters in 15th-century Siena, noted both for his manuscript illuminations and painted panels supplied to the city’s churches.

Object facts

• Title: The Adoration of the Magi
• Date: 1440–45
• Creator attribution: Giovanni di Paolo (Italian, c. 1403–1482)
• Culture: Italy, Siena
• Type: Painting
• Technique: tempera and gold on wood panel
• Dimensions: Framed: 52.5 x 59 x 7.5 cm (20 11/16 x 23 1/4 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 38.4 x 44.3 cm (15 1/8 x 17 7/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Medieval Art
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1942.536

Collection credit

Delia E. Holden and L. E. Holden Funds

Further reading listed by the museum

• Francis, Henry S. “An ‘Adoration of the Magi’ by Giovanni Di Paolo.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 29, no. 10 (December 1942): 166–168.
• Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1945.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.