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The Adoration of the Magi
North Netherlandish 15th Centuryfourth quarter 15th century
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Washington, DC, United States
Details
- Title: The Adoration of the Magi
- Creator: North Netherlandish 15th Century
- Date Created: fourth quarter 15th century
- Physical Dimensions: overall: 183 x 164.5 cm (72 1/16 x 64 3/4 in.) framed: 215.9 x 203.2 x 12 cm (85 x 80 x 4 3/4 in.)
- Provenance: Probably from a convent in the province of Guipuzcoa, Spain.[1] (Arthur J. Sulley, London);[2] (Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, Rome), by 1926;[3] purchased April 1927 by Samuel H. Kress [1863-1955], New York;[4] gift 1952 by exchange to NGA. [1] The precise basis for the tradition that the picture comes from the Basque province of Guipuzcoa has not been found. In a statement in the NGA curatorial files, Robert Quinn analyzed the history and holdings of various monastic establishments in the province, concluding that the most likely candidates for ownership of the _Adoration_ were the Convento de Bidaurrete and the Convento de Aránzazu, both in Oñate; see also Colin Eisler, _Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian_, Oxford, 1977: 65-66. [2] See note 4; Max Friedlander, in a letter of 21 March 1937 to Kress commenting on a photograph of the painting, says "I have seen the original many years ago in London." This information and note 4 have been added to the provenance after the 1986 publication of the NGA systematic catalogue of Netherlandish paintings. [3] See certificate of Roberto Longhi, November 1926, in the NGA curatorial files. [4] The bill of sale for eight paintings is dated 6 April 1927 (copy in NGA curatorial files; see also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/2040.). The painting is described as follows: "A picture representing The Adoration of the Maggi[_sic_] - An early painting attributed to the Dutch School, said to be painted not later than 1480. Transferred from an oaken panel. From a Convent in Spain. From Mr. A. S.[_sic_] Sulley London." A label on the back of the painting repeats this, except for reference to Sulley, which is handwritten on the typewritten bill of sale.
- Rights: CC0
- Medium: oil on canvas transferred from panel
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