Panels from an altarpiece dedicated to the Three Magi
1470-1480
Pine, tempera
58.5 x 30 cm each
The Procession of the Magi; detail from an altarpiece wing
Inv. 55.39
The composition was trimmed with only the lower edge in its original form. The panel belonged together with the panel of the same theme, numbered 55.40/55.39. Presumably the panel was part of the same altarpiece dedicated to the Three Magi as painting 55.38 showing the Adoration of the Magi. The origins and place of original usage of the work are unknown. The style of the panel makes it likely that the master (perhaps active in the mining region) was familiar with Austrian painting of the time and was well aware of the latest prints, borrowing from them freely rather than slavishly copying them.
Provenance:
Ipolyi Collection. ‘127 and 128. Two small wing panels, on a wood board, the two fit together, with a king leading an approaching cavalry. Early 16th c. (Lakatos-Balla 279).
Bibliography
Új Magyar Sion II: 1871, 372. – Gerevich Tibor: A régi magyar festészet európai helyzete. Bp. 1924, 24. – Gerevich 1948, 28. – Radocsay-1955, 106, 325. – Boskovits-Mojzer-Mucsi-1964 126. – Mucsi-1975, 13. – Lakatos-Balla-2012, 277. – Sankt Pölten-2015, 133.
Provenance:
Ipolyi Collection. ‘127 and 128. Two small wing panels, on a wood board, the two fit together, with a king leading an approaching cavalry. Early 16th c. (Lakatos-Balla 279).
Bibliography
Új Magyar Sion II: 1871, 372. – Gerevich Tibor: A régi magyar festészet európai helyzete. Bp. 1924, 24. – Gerevich 1948, 28. – Radocsay-1955, 106, 325. – Boskovits-Mojzer-Mucsi-1964 126. – Mucsi-1975, 13. – Lakatos-Balla-2012, 277. – Sankt Pölten-2015, 133.
