The Three Magi Retable

The central scene of this retable shows the Adoration of the Christ Child by the three Magi. The Christ Child is receiving gold, in the form of coins, from King Caspar.
As Balthasar’s right hand and both Melchior’s hands are missing, the gifts they are bringing have also been lost. Melchior is the most striking of the three Magi. He is the only one lifting his headdress and looking away from the child, as if he wants to stand out from the other Magi. The portrait is identified as that of Frederick the Wise (1463-1525), Elector of Saxony. The fact that Frederick the Wise is portrayed on the Magi retable indicates that he may have been the patron. Although it was not unusual to depict monarchs on an altarpiece, it was exceptional to include them in a religious scene. Alongside Joseph’s foot, the ox and the ass are depicted in miniature, and the silhouette of a city has been added to the background. On the front of the left wing, John the Evangelist can be identified by his attribute, the poisoned chalice, but especially by the name written below on a cartouche.