The Adoration of the Magi is a painting by Sandro Botticelli. He was an Italian Renaissance painter and draughtsman. It is dated somewhere between 1475 to 1476. He was commissioned by an Italian banker, Gaspare di Zanobi Del Lama. It was rumored that Del Lama was connected to a prominent political and financial Italian family, the Medici. The Medici family was one of Botticelli’s greatest supporters. Del Lama commissioned the painting for his chapel in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence. The chapel has since been destroyed, and the painting is now in the Uffizi, a famous art museum in Florence (totalhistory).
Sandro Botticelli’s painting of the Adoration of the Magi was a popular theme among the Renaissance painters. It is his illustration of the three kings bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to lay before baby Jesus. The painting contains numerous Christian symbols and meticulous attention was paid to the details. Although the painting is showing a scene in history, Botticelli chose to use many actual leading male Medici family members. Thus showing the importance of the family in Botticelli’s carreer. He also included Del Lama in a blue robe and allegedly included a self-portrait, the man on the right side of the painting looking out of the painting wearing a yellow-orange robe.
The Adoration of the Magi is a tempera grassa painted on a wooden panel. Botticelli was a conservative in his painting approach, however he chose to alter traditional techniques to adopt new ones. The tempera grassa,was a new paint medium to Italy. Tempera grassa is made by mixing natural pigments with egg yolks, water and oil. Because it dries almost instantly, the egg tempera has to be applied in thin layers to gradually build and blend the colors to define volume and forms. Botticelli also used dark outlines and dramatic color contrasts to