What is the meaning of the painting “The Adoration of the Three Magi” by Sandro Botticelli in 1475?
I was just curious what was the meaning behind this painting. I know it was created during the Renaissance. But what’s the meaning of it.
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The meaning is that the Magi (the Wise Men) are visiting the Christ Child and worshipping him shortly after his birth.
It's simply one of many biblical stories that Renaissance artists painted. This was a common subject. You can find the original story in the Bible, in the Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12, in the New Testament. Over time, Christians came up with names for the Magi and various other accretions to the story. You can read about that on the sites below:
Renaissance artists naturally liked to make their paintings of biblical stories unique and individual. They might embellish the original tale to make it look more visually interesting, more elaborate and elegant. The Magi, supposedly kings, could be richly dressed, the gifts they brought could be elegantly ornamental, exotic animals like camels could be included. Angels could be added to emphasize Christ's divinity. Many things could be done to create an interesting, beautiful, visually entertaining scene, but fundamentally, the scene concerns the Magi's recognition and acknowledgement of Christ as the son of God.
At that time, only around 10% of the population could read (whatever.....) Artists painted the stories of the Bible everywhere to tell them.You see this all over Europe on the walls of the churches and cathedrals. It is the Sistine Chapel.....
It refers to the biblical story of the 3 wise men who supposedly arrived when Jesus was born and gave him gifts. It doesn't have any meaning beyond that, it's an allegorical painting.
It is a picture of a biblical event the Church celebrates around January 6th. It is the epiphany. You surely have heard the Christmas song "We three kings of orient are"?