Artwork
Adoration triptych: King Balthasar (interior left), Adoration of Christ with King Melchior (middle), King Caspar (interior right); Christ the Redeemer (exterior left), Virgin with child (exterior right)
Adoration triptych: King Balthasar (interior left), Adoration of Christ with King Melchior (middle), King Caspar (interior right); Christ the Redeemer (exterior left), Virgin with child (exterior right) is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Cornelis van Cleve. It dates from 1525 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Overview
This oil-on-panel triptych, created in 1525, is a three-part altarpiece attributed to Cornelis van Cleve, a Flemish painter from Antwerp.
Subject & Meaning
The triptych's interior panels depict the Adoration of the Christ Child by the three Magi: Balthasar, Melchior, and Caspar. The exterior panels show Christ the Redeemer and the Virgin with Child, presenting a narrative that unfolds as the triptych is opened.
Technique & Style
The artist's use of oil paint achieves a rich, detailed representation of the scene, with a dark background that emphasizes the figures and creates a sense of depth.
History & Provenance
The painting is now held in the Alte Pinakothek's collection. Cornelis van Cleve, the artist, trained in his father Joos van Cleve's workshop and briefly worked in London before establishing his own practice.
Artist & collection
Artist
Cornelis van Cleve, Cornelis van Cleef or Cornelis van der Beke, nickname Sotte Cleve ('Mad Cleve') (1520 in Antwerp – 1567/1614) was a Flemish Renaissance painter active in Antwerp who is known for his religious compositions and portraits.
Triptych:Adoration of the Magi
Nativity (left panel), Adoration of the Magi (central panel), Rest on the Flight into Egypt (right panel)
Triptych of the Adoration of the Magi with Nativity and Flight into Egypt on outer wings
Painting
Flügelaltar; Mittelbild: Anbetung der Könige; linker Flügel: Anbetung der Hirten; rechter Flügel: Ruhe auf der Flucht nach Ägypten
Adoration of the magi (centre)![Altarpiece showing scenes from the Infancy of Christ: The Adoration of the Magi [center]; The Annunciation; The Presentation of Christ in the Temple; The Flight into Egypt; The Nativity [clockwise from upper left], by Master of Hoogstraeten](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/master-of-hoogstraeten--altarpiece-showing-scenes-from-the-infancy-of-christ-the-ado--6a236bfea3373486-w320.webp)
Altarpiece showing scenes from the Infancy of Christ: The Adoration of the Magi [center]; The Annunciation; The Presentation of Christ in the Temple; The Flight into Egypt; The Nativity [clockwise from upper left]