Triptych with the Adoration of the Magi

Van Cleve's Triptych with the Adoration of the Magi of around 1520, now in the National Gallery Prague, is one of his most ambitious altarpiece commissions. The subject brought together the three traditional Magi — representing the diversity of peoples and ages — before the newborn Christ, providing Van Cleve scope to deploy a crowd of richly costumed figures against architectural and landscape backgrounds. The triptych format, with painted wings flanking the central panel, was the dominant vehicle for large-scale religious painting in the Low Countries and suited both church altar use and the display needs of prosperous private patrons with chapel rights.

The triptych format requires Van Cleve to coordinate light and colour logic across three physically separate panels — a challenge he meets by establishing a consistent light source raking from the left. The Magi's varied costumes serve as a showcase for his skill with complex patterned textiles, rendered with patient layering of colour and glaze over detailed underdrawing.