Collection: Painting
Location: Room 35
Technique: Drawing in charcoal, watercolour ink and oil on wood
Size: 244 x 240 cm
Inventory: Inv. 1890 n. 1594
A document from July 1481 states that
Leonardo da Vinci🎨 had received a commission from the Augustinian monks to paint a panel for the high altar in the church of San Donato in Scopeto, outside Florence’s city walls.
The painting, which Leonardo undertook to finish within 30 months, had the Adoration of the Magi as its subject, i.e., the celebration of the feast of the Epiphany when, according to St Augustine, all people respond to the call of Christ.
For this subject, Leonardo studied an extremely complex composition, rich with figures, set out in a semi-circle, with the Virgin and Child as the focus. In the foreground, the kneeling Magi offer their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus.
Leonardo has painted a background with ruined buildings and clashes between knights on horseback, while on the left, we can see work on a building, perhaps a temple, with in the foreground, two flights of stairs, like the presbytery of several Mediaeval churches (San Miniato al Monte in Florence, for example).