Triptych of the Adoration of the Magi

Hans Memling

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Hans Memling

Seligenstadt (Germany), 1433 - Bruges (Belgium), 1494

Triptych of the Adoration of the Magi

1470 - 1472. Oil on baltic oak planks.
Room 058A

When open, the triptych displays three scenes: the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Presentation in the Temple. The first two share the same setting, the biblical manger. Some details reveals the artist’s interest in achieving a correct depiction of the setting and architecture that was common to both images, a fondness for exquisite trueness to life that led him to leave small, almost imperceptible gaps in the architecture through which the blue of the sky is visible, helping create a sense of depth. The Nativity is also the Adoration of the Child. Mary is shown kneeling with raised hands in a gesture of adoration of her son, who lies naked on the ground on a fold in his mother’s mantle. The two angels beside her, dressed in pink and green with wings of the same colour, join in her adoration. Behind her Saint Joseph crosses the threshold of the room with a lit candle in his left hand whose flame he protects with his right hand in a very natural gesture. Visible behind him are a few buildings and a gate in the wall of a city along whose streets several figures appear to walk towards the manger. Their clothing – nearly all of them wear caps and carry staffs – and the animals accompanying them identify them as shepherds.

The Adoration of the Magi takes place in the same architectural setting but viewed frontally. In the centre of the composition, in front of the main column of the building, Mary holds the Child, whose right foot is reverentially kissed by the first magus. The second magus, portrayed on the left in the act of kneeling, offers his gift in a metal vessel similar to that of the first one. His rich ermine cape, robe of gold brocade and transparent gauze hanging down his back from the brooch fastened to the ermine are striking. The third magus remains standing on the right and is portrayed with African features, in accordance with a tradition – not very common at the time – of associating each magus with one of the three known continents. At either end of the composition, behind the broken arches, the scene is watched by members of the Magi’s entourage bearing their standards. The one on the left displays gold stars on a blue ground. The one on the right, also in gold on blue, exhibits a crescent moon and star that significantly resemble an Oriental symbol used first in Byzantium and subsequently by Islam, and must therefore be an allusion to the Asian origin of one of the Magi.

The right-hand panel depicts the Presentation in the Temple according to the Gospel of Luke (2:21–38). Mary hands the Child to Simeon, the old man to whom the Holy Spirit announced he would see Christ before dying. The hilt of the sword among his robes is an allusion to his words about how Jesus’s future sacrifice would pierce Mary like a sword.

When closed, the triptych displays depictions of the Ecce Homo and the Mater Dolorosa, which are completely unrelated to Memling but denote that the work was subsequently used for devotional purposes. As the technical study has confirmed, they are an addition, most likely dating from the sixteenth century.

The Prado triptych is conceptually and compositionally dependent on Van der Weyden’s altarpiece in the church of Saint Columba in Cologne. The central panels of both works, where the epiphany takes place before a decrepit architectural portal behind whose arches lies a city, are particularly similar. The Presentation in the Temple is also inspired by Rogier, based on the Saint Columba altarpiece. However, it is not a replica. the main difference with respect to Rogier’s work is the left-hand panel. Memling dispenses with the Annunciation and represents a fairly uncommon event, Mary adoring the Child in the presence of some angels and Saint Joseph. Even so, there is an obvious Rogierian precedent from which he draws inspiration: the central panel of the Bladelin Triptych in Berlin, executed around 1445–50. The Madrid triptych is very similar to Memling’s Triptych of Jan Floreins, which was likewise inspired by the Saint Columba altarpiece.

The Prado work must have been painted in the 1470s. Besides the evidence that it is earlier than the Floreins Triptych, of 1479, a further element that backs this dating is the alterations made to the design of the Magi’s standards, whose final form precedes that of those depicted in the Seven Joys of the Virgin Mary in Munich (Alte Pinakothek, inv. WAF 668), painted by Memling around 1480. The clothing of the contemporary figures visible through the doorway in the background of the Presentation is consistent with the fashions of the 1470s.

Pérez Preciado, José Juan, Fifteenth-century netherlandish painting at the Museo Nacional del Prado. Catalogue raisonné, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2024, p.292-305 nº.38

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Inventory number: P001557
Author: Hans Memling
Title: Triptych of the Adoration of the Magi
Date: 1470 - 1472
Technique: Oil
Support: Baltic oak planks
Dimension: Height: 95 cm; Width: 271 cm
Provenance: Royal Collection (Castillo de Aceca, Villaseca de la Sagra-Toledo, oratorio; Palacio Real, Aranjuez-Madrid).
Entry date: 1848

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Other inventories +

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1854-1858. Núm. 1945.

Inv. Real Museo, 1857. Núm. 2838.
2838. Un tríptico en tabla con la adoración en el centro, y el nacimiento y la circuncisión en los lados estilo del celebre Hemeling. / Alto del centro 3 pies, 5 p.s; ancho 5 pies, 3 pulg. / Ancho de los lados 2 pies, 3 p.s, alto 3 pies, 5 pulg.

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1872-1907. Núm. 1424.

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1910. Núm. 1557.

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1942-1996. Núm. 1557.

Inscriptions +

2938 / Aranjuez
Handwritten label in black ink. Back

Exhibitions +

Dibuixos al descobert / Dibujos al descubierto. Reflectografies infraroges de pintures dels segles XV i XVI del Museo del Pra
15.11.2007 - 30.03.2008

El Trazo Oculto. Dibujos subyacentes en pinturas de los siglos Xv y XVI<br />
21.07.2006 - 03.11.2006

Location +

Room 058A (On Display)

Displayed objects +

Recipient: Copones de orfebrería con los presentes que los Reyes Magos ofrecen al Niño

Window glazed with polygonal panes of flat glass: Ventanales acristalados con piezas romboidales de vidrio plano incoloro, colocadas a cartabón, yunidas mediante emplomado.

Window, Artistic stained-glass: Vidriera artística en forma de rosetón; el aspecto artístico se limita al empleo de formas geométricas con alternancia de piezas de vidrio coloreado e incoloro
Función ornamental, pero con con interpretación conceptual (atracción de los fieles por la luz y el color; luz divina)

Flag: Banderas y estandartes en el séquito de los Reyes Magos: 2 con campo azul ultramar y estrellas doradas de seis puntas; 1 estandarte con una figura humana masculina

Candle: Vela

Pitchers / Jugs: Jarra cerámica; parece decorada con figuras de palomas pintadas

Update date: 02-06-2026 | Registry created on 28-04-2015

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Triptych of the Adoration of the Magi

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Location +

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Other works by Hans Memling

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