Full title | The Adoration of the Kings: Upper Tier Panel |
---|---|
Artist | Jacopo di Cione and workshop |
Artist dates | documented 1365; died 1398 -1400 |
Series | The San Pier Maggiore Altarpiece |
Date made | 1370-1 |
Medium and support | Egg tempera on wood |
Dimensions | 95.5 x 49.3 cm |
Acquisition credit | Bought, 1857 |
Inventory number | NG574 |
Location | Room 60 |
Art route(s) | A |
Collection | Main Collection |
This panel is the second in a series of scenes of the life of Christ, part of a multi-panelled altarpiece made for the church of San Pier Maggiore, Florence. This sequence ran above the altarpiece’s main tier, which showed the coronation of the Virgin surrounded by adoring saints.
We see three kings followed by their courtly entourage – complete with horses and camels – paying homage to the infant Christ. The kings in their colourful robes kneel before the baby, one cradling his little foot, about to kiss it. They offer him gifts: small jars containing, according to the Gospel accounts, gold and the spices frankincense and myrhh. The kings had a special importance in Florence, as they shared their feast day (6 January) with the city’s patron saint, John the Baptist.
This panel was once framed with a scene showing the Nativity and the annunciation to and the adoration of the shepherds. Both belong to a series of six paintings showing events from the life of Christ, from his death to the Resurrection. This sequence formed the middle tier of a large multi-panelled altarpiece made for the Florentine convent church of San Pier Maggiore. The central scene showed the coronation of the Virgin.
While the adjacent scene of the Nativity is calm and contemplative, this one is busy and lively. The Three Kings kneel before the Christ Child, who is presented to them by the Virgin Mary. The bearded king takes one of Christ’s tiny feet in his hand to kiss it; his crown lies on the floor, removed in deference to the baby. He has offered the child a lidded jar containing his gift. According to the Bible, the kings brought gold and precious spices (frankincense and myrrh). Christ blesses the king while Joseph takes the gift.
Together the kings form part of a harmonious trio of red, blue and green. Kneeling at different heights so that they are all visible, they are followed by an entourage of attendants that winds its way around the craggy rock. There are animals, too: two horses – one neighing vigorously, his head rearing upwards – provide transport for the royal train. A pair of camels, also harnessed, look agitated in the crowd and a weasel or a stoat creeps away from the hubbub of the scene in the lower foreground.
The kings, sometimes known as the wise men or ‘magi’, were important to religious life in Florence. This was because the Epiphany, the feast at which they were celebrated (6 January), was shared with the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, and Saint John the Baptist was one of the city’s patron saints (he appears on the panel to the right of the altarpiece’s central scene). Every year there was a procession through the city to mark the Epiphany.
Download a low-resolution copy of this image for personal use.
License and download a high-resolution image for reproductions up to A3 size from the National Gallery Picture Library.
License imageThis image is licensed for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons agreement.
Examples of non-commercial use are:
- Research, private study, or for internal circulation within an educational organisation (such as a school, college or university)
- Non-profit publications, personal websites, blogs, and social media
The image file is 800 pixels on the longest side.
As a charity, we depend upon the generosity of individuals to ensure the collection continues to engage and inspire. Help keep us free by making a donation today.
You must agree to the Creative Commons terms and conditions to download this image.
The Adoration of the Kings: Upper Tier Panel
The San Pier Maggiore Altarpiece
These images come from a large, four-tiered altarpiece created for the high altar of the choir of the church of San Pier Maggiore in Florence. It was made up of a number of separate panels, most of which are now in the National Gallery’s collection.
Although only the facade of the church remains today, it was one of the oldest and most important religious institutions in Florence when this altarpiece was made. It was founded by the first bishop of Florence, Saint Zenobius, in the fifth century. The picture formed the backdrop to one of the ceremonies relating to the ordination of each bishop of Florence until the late sixteenth century.
The altarpiece was most probably commissioned by the wealthy Florentine Albizzi family and many of its saints relate to their family or their trade as wool merchants. The central images showed the coronation of the Virgin by Christ surrounded by adoring saints – a highly popular image in Florence.
This was one of the largest and most expensive altarpieces made in fourteenth-century Florence, for the Benedictine convent church of San Pier Maggiore, one Florence’s most important and oldest churches.
The central panel shows the coronation of the Virgin by Christ, which occurred, according to legend, after her body and soul were taken up into heaven. The scene is framed by panels on the left and right which show rows of saints looking on. Above this main tier was another level of pictures, showing scenes from Christ’s life and after his death: the Nativity and Adoration of the Kings, the Resurrection and events after it, Christ’s ascension to heavenand Pentecost. Three pinnacles topped the whole construction, the central one showing the Trinity flanked on the left and right by panels showing adoring angels. The predella depicted scenes from the life of the church’s patron saint, Peter, and there were probably also two supporting pilasters on either side of the entire construction, decorated with images of saints.
An important and wealthy Florentine family, the Albizzi, commissioned the altarpiece; it is likely that various members contributed towards the cost of its production. Many of the saints depicted in the altarpiece relate to the Albizzi family while others have significance for the church.
San Pier Maggiore was founded by one of Florence’s patron saints, its first bishop, Saint Zenobius, in the fifth century, and became a Benedictine convent in the eleventh century. At the end of the fourteenth century it was rebuilt, with work completed at around the same time that this altarpiece was installed over the high altar of the choir. The altarpiece played an important part in the ecclesiastical life of the city: new bishops of Florence would process to the church on the way back from their ordination at the cathedral, and it served as the backdrop to a ceremony in which the bishop would become symbolically married to the church. The ritual was sealed when the bishop offered a ring to the convent’s abbess. This recognition and privilege were apt given that the church’s founder was the city’s first bishop.
The painting has been attributed to Jacopo di Cione on the basis of its style. Infrared reflectography has revealed that at least two artists were involved in the initial drawings for the painting – such a large scale painting was likely to be a collaborative project. Surviving documents refer to a ‘designer’: ‘Niccolaio’. His identity is unknown but he could be Niccolò di Pietro di Gerini who collaborated with Jacopo di Cione on other projects, or Niccolò di Tommaso. Considering how much he was paid for the work this designer might have provided a compositional drawing as well as have designed the construction of the woodwork. The documents also mention a decorative painted curtain made to cover the painting.
The majority of the panels which made up the main section of the altarpiece are in the National Gallery, while paintings from the predella and pilasters have been identified in other collections.












More paintings by Jacopo di Cione












