Adoration Of The Magi: Magnificent Works Of Renaissance Art

During the Renaissance in Florence, Italy, it was very common for artists to produce magnificent works of religious art. Unlike most art made today, wealthy patrons deliberately commissioned these pieces with a political agenda in mind. Commissions promoted the prestige of the patron and were a tool of diplomacy. Furthermore, the cultural and historical context in which art was produced can shape and impact the style and overall approach to the painting. These outside forces, aside from the artist’s skill and discretion himself, have strong influence on how a painting will be conceived. Due to this predisposed nature of producing art, one single scene can be interpreted in dramatically contrasting manners. Two Renaissance paintings

This was a common biblical story that was recounted over and over again during this time. It is when the Magi, which comes from the word meaning ‘Wise Men’, follow the star that guides them to the baby Jesus at the Nativity in Bethlehem. They were sent from the east by King Herod to record any valuable information about his new potential competitor and brought with them three gifts for the baby Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. That night in their dreams, God told them to disobey Herod’s orders, and they did. This event in the bible is known as the Adoration of the Magi. It is common in early Renaissance art, because the patrons could easily manipulate this subject matter for their own liking. Cardini explains “The Magi became an important piece in the jigsaw of Roman-Germanic ‘imperial theology’: a sort of keyword of regal cult, an integral part of a discourse aimed at the sanctification of power.” The fact that the story had to do with three rich and wise men was enticing to affluent and influential

They were both paid for by private wealthy Florentine families for display in public churches. As described by Fossi on Fabriano’s painting, “Palla Strozzi, a man of great wealth… commissioned this sumptuous work for his family chapel in the church of Santa Trinta, where he planned the building of a public library with Greek and Latin Volumes.” The other Adoration of the Magi, by Botticelli, was commissioned by Guasparre Lami, an agent of the Bankers Guild in Florence whose members included the Medici family. It was contracted as an altarpiece for his personal chapel in the Santa Maria Novella. Although these are great acts of philanthropy and public generosity, aesthetics and public decoration was rarely ever the only reason they were contracted. Paoletti and Radke explain that, “Commissioned works of art, whether generated by the state, the Church, monastic communities, civic and corporate groups such as guilds, or private individuals, were conceived with specific goals in mind and were meant to convey publicly specific messages often more complex than their subjects would indicate.” The patrons had a lot of control over how the painting was displayed, and utilized that power for their own