Adoration of the Magi in the Presence of Saint Helen

Palma il Vecchio (Jacopo Negretti)

Download hi-res image TITLE Adoration of the Magi in the Presence of Saint Helen
AUTHOR Palma il Vecchio (Jacopo Negretti)
DATE 1525 - 6
OBJECT TYPE AND MATERIAL Oil on canvas
DIMENSIONS cm 470 x 260
INVENTORY 140
ROOM XIV
Work on display

In the picture’s spatious, monumental composition, the main scene in the foreground, with a lively Jesus close to the king’s beard, echoes the procession of the Magi with janissaries, camels and other exotic beasts depicted with increasingly summary brushwork until they fade into the distance. St. Helen, included because the church was dedicated to her and identified with the cross because she discovered the True Cross, may be a likeness of Orsa Malipiero who commissioned the altarpiece.