16th Century, Spain, Nativity - adoration Of The Magi

16th century, Spain
Nativity - Adoration of the Magi
Polychrome wood, cm 76,5 x 33 and cm 77,5 x 33,5
Innovative and unusual pair of panels with an evocative flavor. The safe and precise wooden digging ensures the group solidity and imminent presence. The figures seem to be broken by the resistant stone, instead of soft wood; this formal security, already symptomatic of the artist’s skill, is even outclassed by the curious colorism adopted. Not the golden background, which also incorporates the crumbling hut where Mary and Joseph found shelter, but the extraordinary inventiveness of the artist in differentiating each surface. The Spanish school that produced the panels stands out here: the faces of donkey and ox are finely propped with gold; the blue robe of Mary is a wonderful Spanish damask mindful of the silk trade that took place in the Mediterranean thanks to the intercession of the Venetian market. The wood at the base of the open is streaked, while the sumptuous robes of the Magi, in the second panel, are finely elaborated like the cloak of the Virgin, damask-like or brocade. 
The iconographies adopted are the traditional ones: the one with the magi presents the addition of the comet, which the middle age magio indicates. The older man is already kneeling before the Child Jesus to pay homage to him: he has removed his crown and offers, being the first, gold. The gifts brought by the three kings have always been considered very valuable elements; myrrh is an aromatic gum extracted from a tree, while incense has been used since ancient times in various religious rites.