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The Adoration of the Magi

Georges Trubertabout 1480–1490

The J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles, United States

In this miniature, the three wise men who followed the star of Bethlehem from the east pay homage to Christ. In the Middle Ages, artists and authors traditionally represented the wise men as kings with individual names and characteristics. Caspar, the oldest, kneels before the Virgin and Child and offers a gift of gold, while Melchoir, the youngest, points out the star to Balthazar, represented as a black man following late medieval custom.

Each of the gifts offered to Christ had symbolic value in the Middle Ages: gold in homage to Christ's kingship; frankincense, an oil used in worship in ancient times, in honor of his divinity; and myrrh, used in embalming, foreshadowing his death. In the later Middle Ages, the Magi often personified the three parts of the known world (Africa, Asia, and Europe); their facial features and dress in this miniature suggest this interpretation.

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  • Title: The Adoration of the Magi
  • Creator: Georges Trubert
  • Date Created: about 1480–1490
  • Location Created: Provence, France
  • Physical Dimensions: Leaf: 11.4 × 8.6 cm (4 1/2 × 3 3/8 in.)
  • Type: Folio
  • External Link: Find out more about this object on the Museum website.
  • Medium: Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold and silver paint, and ink on parchment
  • Terms of Use: Open Content
  • Number: 93.ML.6.59
  • Culture: French
  • Credit Line: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Ms. 48, fol. 59
  • Creator Display Name: Georges Trubert (French, active Provence, France 1469 - 1508)
  • Classification: Manuscripts (Documents)
The J. Paul Getty Museum

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