The Adoration of the Magi
1490. Oil on panel.Not on display
The Virgin Mary sits beside Saint Joseph, holding the newborn Jesus in her lap, while king Melchior kisses the baby´s foot and Casper and Balthasar place their presents on a tray. The idyllic landscape and the architecture typical of northern European cities, as well as the composition, bluish-grey color scheme and hieratic figures clothed in robes with stiff folds, recall the Spanish-Flemish style in which Rodrigo was trained, and which his brother, Francisco, absorbed from him. The detail of Gaspar placing the goblet on a small round table is taken from Dirk Bouts. There are also evident similarities with works by Bartolomé Bermejo, who was active in Valencia in the late 1460s.
This work is a companion to Nativity (P2834), which is also in the Prado Museum collection. They probably come from the main altarpiece in the church of Santa María de Alicante.