Picture 4 / 6
The Adoration of the Magi
Albrecht Dürer, The Adoration of the Magi, 1504
- Painter
- Albrecht Dürer
- Collection
- Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence
- Scripture
- Matthew 2:11
- Published
- 5 October 2026
- Image
- Wikimedia Commons, public domain ↗
Mary sits in front of a ruined wall and holds the child towards the oldest king, who kneels and offers a casket. The child reaches into it. Two more kings stand behind, one with long curls, one a young African.
Dürer painted the panel in 1504 for Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, probably for the castle church in Wittenberg. A century later it was given to the emperor Rudolf II; since 1793 it has hung in Florence. It was painted between Dürer's two journeys to Italy, and the clear space and the ruins show what he had seen there.
The king with the long curls and the golden goblet has Dürer's own features.
In the corner a stag beetle crawls over the stone.
The child has both hands in the casket of gold.