Adoration of the Magi

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo became the leading painter in devoutly Catholic Seville, Spain, from the 1640s to the end of his life. He painted almost exclusively for Seville’s many churches and religious orders. This painting is his only known depiction of the Adoration of the Magi—the wise kings from the east who come to worship the Christ Child. Murillo treats the subject in an appealingly human way, convincingly expressing the joy, solemn contemplation, and humble devotion of the three kings and their entourage as the infant Jesus is tenderly presented to them by the young Virgin Mary.