Adoration of the Magi

Dürer's Adoration of the Magi from 1504 was painted for Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony — one of the most important art patrons in Germany and later the protector of Martin Luther. The large panel deploys Dürer's full compositional resources: the ruined architecture of a classical building (symbolizing the Old World superseded by Christianity), the varied physiognomies and costumes of the Magi, the Venetian atmospheric landscape glimpsed behind. Frederick's court at Wittenberg had the most significant art collection in northern Europe, and Dürer's painting sat alongside works by Cranach and others in a collection that embodied the new synthesis of Italian and northern visual culture that defined the Northern Renaissance.

The richly detailed costumes and architectural setting are rendered with characteristic Düreresque precision, while the spatial organization and figure placement reflect his study of Italian compositional principles.