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A black and white print portrays a group of adults and children worshipping a baby inside a barn.

In the lower right corner of this black and white print, a mother and father stand and present their baby, who is seated on a cushion, on top of a crate filled with hay. Rays of light emanate from the mother and baby’s heads. The baby extends his arm to touch the coins in a chalice, which is held before him by a man kneeling in front of him and wearing a luxurious, embroidered, and fur-lined robe. Two men men stand behind him and also wear elaborate robes. The man on the left leans forward and holds a hanging incense burner, from which smoke emits. Two young boys stand behind him, holding his robes. One of them looks out of the scene. The other man, who is dark-skinned and wears a turban, holds up an open, metal vessel. Behind him, to his left, is a man of African descent who smiles. Several additional people number among the onlookers, all of them gazing at the baby; they include soldiers and men wearing turbans. Below the scene is an inscription in block letters.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
G4001
People
Lucas Vorsterman, I, Flemish (Zaltbommel 1595 - 1675 Antwerp)
After Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish (Siegen, Westphalia 1577 - 1640 Antwerp, Belgium)
Title
Adoration of the Magi
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Adoration of the Magi with the torches
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1620
Culture
Flemish
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/280250

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Engraving on cream antique laid paper
Technique
Engraving
Dimensions
image: 57.2 × 43.5 cm (22 1/2 × 17 1/8 in.)
sheet: 58 × 43.5 cm (22 13/16 × 17 1/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: signed in the plate, lower right: "Lucas Vorsterman sculp et excud. Ano. 1620"
  • inscription: lower margin, dedication by Rubens to Albert, Archduke of Austria: "SERENISSIMO ET POTENTISSIMO ALBERTO AUSTR. ARCHID BURG. ET BELGARUM CLEMENTISSIMO Dno.,. ARTIS ET DEVOTIONNIS SUAE SPECIMEN, PETRUS PAULUS RUBENS, EX FIDO CULTU HUMILITER DEICAT CONSECRAQUE"
  • inscription: in the margin, lower left: "P. P. Rubens pinxit"
  • inscription: signed in the plate, lower right: "Lucas Vorsterman sculp et excud. Ano. 1620"
  • inscription: lower centre, privilege: "Cum priuilegijs Regis Christianissimi, Principum Belgarum, & Ordinum Batauiae"

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Francis Calley Gray, bequest; to William Gray, his nephew, 1856, gift; to Harvard University, 1856

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
New Hollstein 8; LeBlanc 90

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of William Gray from the collection of Francis Calley Gray
Object Number
G4001
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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Exhibition History

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu