The Adoration of the Magi
Hugo van der Goes
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The Adoration of the Magi, attributed to Hugo van der Goes
Created in the late 15th century, this work reflects Hugo van der Goes’s mastery of emotional intensity and narrative complexity within Early Netherlandish painting. Though unsigned, this painting is believed to be a copy after a lost original by Hugo van der Goes, based on its close visual parallels to his Monforte Altarpiece and stylistic alignment with his late-career half-length devotional format. Recent technical analysis by The Met and the Statens Museum for Kunst reveals that this version and its Copenhagen twin were likely created in the same southern Netherlandish workshop around 1500, using a shared cartoon and expedited methods typical of serial production.
The Adoration of the Magi by Hugo van der Goes is a richly detailed altarpiece scene, capturing the moment the three kings present gifts to the Christ child, surrounded by the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and a host of attendants. The figures are rendered with expressive realism and layered symbolism, set within an elaborately structured composition that blends architectural elements with a lush, naturalistic background.
