Close looking: The Adoration of the Kings

I’ve stood in front of this painting many times marvelling at new details that emerge from each moment of close looking, and while Gossaert is not as well know as other Netherlandish painters of the 15th and 16th centuries, he is worthy of your time. The painting contains many stylistic references to other works of art and suggests both a method of making, and how the painting would have been viewed by the patron.

INTRODUCTION The Adoration of the Kings, c.1510–15, (Figure 1), is an altarpiece by the Netherlandish artist Jan Gossaert (1478–1532) which was painted while he was in…