Details: LUCAS VAN LEYDEN (1494-1533). Adoration of the Magi. 1513 [but 19th century]. 19th century re-strike on laid paper.Trimmed to image. Sheet size: 11 3/4 x 15 inches.

One of Lucas van Leyden's best known engravings

Engravings of Biblical stories were a new invention of the Northern Renaissance, and they demonstrate aspects of the Northern sensibility that is markedly different from Italian religious works of the period. In this fine, representative work, the emphasis is on the seriousness of the occasion. Scenes of this nature were meant for contemplation rather than worship or idolatry.

The story of the adoration of the magi is told in psychological rather than idolatrous terms, anticipating Protestant views. The scene is set with a large number of men not mentioned in the gospel, who neither notice nor care about the the child born in a stable. These men represent the worldliness which had no room for the infant representing truth.The three magi however show in their postures and expressions a sense of awe the others don't. Joseph and Mary are appropriately humble, and the Infant Jesus has already begun to manifest divine traits: standing and interacting with the kneeling king, radiating divine light. A little behind him, Joseph holds a loaf of bread, indicating that he: Jesus, is the bread of life.

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