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Gentile da Fabriano, The Adoration of the Magi, 1423
A procession of horses, hunters, monkeys and falcons has come to a halt in front of a cave. The oldest king kisses the child's foot, the second kneels, and the youngest waits while a page takes off his spurs. Everything shines with gold.
Palla Strozzi, the richest man in Florence, ordered the altarpiece for his chapel in Santa Trinita; it is signed and dated 1423 on the frame. Gentile used real gold, some of it in raised relief. In the three arches above, the journey is told from the beginning: the kings see the star, ride to Jerusalem and enter Bethlehem.
The child lays a hand on the old king's bald head.
The journey of the kings in the three arches, with towns, hills and a long train of riders.
