Monforte Altarpiece

Hugo van der Goes's Monforte Altarpiece, painted around 1470 and now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, is a monumental Adoration of the Magi that demonstrates Hugo's ability to work at a scale unusual for Netherlandish painting. Named after the Spanish monastery that once housed it, the altarpiece shows the Magi adoring the Christ Child with Hugo's characteristic psychological intensity. The work predates the Portinari Altarpiece and shows his style fully formed.

Hugo achieves monumental presence through large-scale figures with intense, individualized characterization, using rich, saturated colors and the sharp, angular drapery that distinguishes his emotional approach from the calmer Bruges tradition.