The Adoration of the Kings

Probably painted in the late 1520s, perhaps in Ferrara, where the artist worked for the court of the ruling Este family.

The subject is, unusually, interpreted as a nocturne, which provides opportunities for the flickering brushwork for which Dossi is noted. The huge harvest moon with a pink aureole, traversed by inky clouds, casts a mysterious light, picking out features of the fortified town in the background.