The Adoration of the Magi
The Adoration of the Magi
- Artist
- Jacopo del Sellaio
- Artist Dates
- 1441/1442-1493
- Artist Nationality
- Italian
- Title
- The Adoration of the Magi
- Date
- c. 1480-90
- Medium
- tempera on panel
- Dimensions
- 89.2 x 170.8 cm (35-1/8 x 67-1/4 in)
- K Number
- K316
- Repository
- Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
- Accession Number
- 61.193
- Notes
Provenance
Eduard Aynard [1873-1913], Lyon; (his sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 1 December 1913, no. 64); Marczell von Nemes [1866-1930], Munich; (his sale, Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, 13 November 1928, no. 14) probably bought in; (Nemes sale, Cassirer and Helbing, Munich, 16-19 June 1931, no. 20, as Sellaio); (Kleinberger Galleries, New York); (Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi [1878-1955], Rome-Florence); sold to Samuel H. Kress [1863-1955] on 12 June 1935; gift to the National Gallery of Art in 1939, deaccessioned in 1952 and returned to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation; gift 1961 to Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, no. MBMA 61.193.
Catalogue Entry
Jacopo del Sellaio
The Adoration of the Magi
K316
Memphis, Tenn., Brooks Memorial Art Gallery (61.193), since 1958.(1) Wood. 35 1/8 X 67 1/4 in. (89.2 X 170.8 cm.). Indecipherable inscription on the sleeves of the seated page at lower left. Abraded throughout, especially in flesh tones; cleaned 1957. Among the cassone panels attributed to Sellaio and his studio, K316 has been cited for its rich detail of genre and architectural elements.(2) It was painted under the strong influence of Botticelli, probably about 1480/90. Provenance: Édouard Aynard, Lyons (sold, Georges Petit, Paris, Dec. 1, 1913, no. 64, as Sellaio. Marczell von Nemes, Munich (sold, Frederik Muller's, Amsterdam, Nov. 13, 1928, no. 14 of catalogue by L. Venturi, as attributed to Sellaio; probably bought in, for it appears again in the Nemes sale at Cassirer & Helbing's, Munich, June 16-19, 1931, no. 20, as Sellaio). Contini Bonacossi, Florence. Kress acquisition, 1935 – exhibited: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (278), 1941-51;(3) after entering the Brooks Memorial Art Gallery: 'Art Treasures for America,' National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., no. 85, as Sellaio.
References
(1) Catalogue by W. E. Suida, 1958, p. 22, as Sellaio. (2) K316 has been attributed to Sellaio by B. Berenson (Florentine Painters of the Renaissance, 1912, p. 183; Italian Pictures ... Florentine School, vol. I, 1963, p. 198), A. L. Mayer (in Pantheon, vol. II, 1928, pp. 450 f), R. van Marle (Italian Schools of Painting, vol. XII, 193 I, p. 412), G. Fiacco, R. Longhi, F. M. Perkins, and A. Venturi (in ms. opinions). (3) Preliminary Catalogue, 1941, p. 183, as Sellaio.