Lot 1017 Dα

Four other versions are known to exist of this unusual depiction of the Adoration of the Magi, these are kept in the Centraal Museum and the Catharijneconvent in Utrecht, in a Roman private collection and in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin (illustrated in the RKD, the Hague). Although none of the works were painted by Jan van Scorel himself, the densely populated composition is nevertheless attributed to this Utrecht painter. We would like to thank Molly Ann Faries for her information. She considers the version in Dublin (93.3 x 74.8 cm) to be stylistically closest to van Scorel's work, and that the underdrawing was possibly carried out by the artist himself. Mrs Faries also considers it possible that the present work was painted in Scorel's studio.
Following the Utrecht Cardinal Boeyen's ascension of the papal throne as Pope Adrian VI in 1522, Scorel travelled to Rome in the same year. There, his countryman immediately appointed him as overseer of the Belvedere antiquities collection. The 22 year old painter's fascination for ancient ruins is clearly evident in the present work. He has placed the biblical adoration scene in a location which could be the Roman forum. The work shows architecture above and below ground, with the adoration scene taking place in what appears to be an excavated brick vault surrounded by scenery with a temple, amphitheatre and triumphal arch reminiscent of the ruins of the Italian capital.