The Magi Before Herod

Matteo di Giovanni, who was one of the most prolific Sienese painters of the second half of the fifteenth century, known especially for his dramatic Massacre of the Innocents compositions, created this work around 1490, now in the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. This work reflects the artistic culture of Siena during the High Renaissance, when the innovations of the early fifteenth century reached their mature expression in works of unprecedented technical and compositional sophistication.

The Adoration composition allows for rich display of costume and exotic detail in the Magi's retinue, with the artist exploiting the subject's opportunities for varied textures, colors, and figure types.