|
|
|
Adoration of the Magi
Ca 1565-1567
Athens, Benaki Museum
|
|
|
This painting was also executed on Crete, and is one of the few extant works from El Greco‘s early period. The picture shows the Mother of God, seated inside a ruined Renaissance building, with vaults supported by marble columns crowned by heavy capitals. She holds the lively Christ Child, to whom the three Magi pay homage offering their rich gifts. They are followed by a suite of attendants and horses, occupying the right-hand part of the scene. Joseph stands in meditation behind the Virgin. The background is occupied by a hilly landscape and a distant walled city, certainly Bethlehem.
Although the Adoration of the Magi is painted in the Byzantine manner, it is also marked by strong influences from the Western art of the Renaissance. The choice of colours and the interest in architectural elements and perspective exhibited by the young El Greco point to the influence of Italian painting.
|