Adoration of the Magi

Circle of Peter Hemmel von Andlau (Strassburger Werkstattgemeinschaft)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Virgin Mary, seated at the left on a stoop before a thatch and masonry structure, holds the infant Jesus on her knees with her left hand while raising the other in greeting. The bald wise man, known as Melchior, kneels before the seated group, holding out a box into which the child reaches. Standing behind, each holding his gift, are the other two Magi, identified by the late Middle Ages as Balthazar and Caspar. On the other side of the enclosing wall, a landscape featuring a church, a lake, and mountains recedes into the distance. The palette is especially rich, and the simulation of luxurious textiles and fur is remarkably convincing. The Virgin’s halo is inscribed with the greeting of the angel Gabriel at the announcement of the impending birth of Jesus: ave maria gratia plena dominus tecum (Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you). At the lower edge, the plinth riser bears the name Hans Schwinli vō Münchē 1507, presumably the name of the Munich citizen who commissioned the panel.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Metropolitan Museum of Art