Paolo Veronese, 'The Adoration of the Kings', 1573
About the work
Overview
The Three Kings have come to visit the infant Christ in the stable where he was born. They bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and have journeyed from the East (Matthew 2: 10–12). The stable at Bethlehem is attached to the ruins of a great classical building with a triumphal arch in the background. Angels appear in the sky, along the ray of light that falls on Christ. The dominant diagonal, created by this beam of heavenly light, is countered by the diagonal formed by the adoring figures, with the Virgin Mary and Christ Child placed where they intersect.
The picture is dated 1573 and was painted for the church of S. Silvestro in Venice. It was not an altarpiece but a large painting for the wall of the nave beside the altar of the confraternity dedicated to Saint Joseph.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Adoration of the Kings
- Artist
- Paolo Veronese
- Artist dates
- 1528 - 1588
- Date made
- 1573
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 355.6 × 320 cm
- Inscription summary
- Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1855
- Inventory number
- NG268
- Location
- Room 9
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 16th-century Venetian Frame with Later Interventions
Provenance
S. Silvestro, Venice. Removed to a storeroom within the precincts of the church, 1837. Sold 1 September 1855 to Angelo Toffoli. Purchased from him 24 November 1855.
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Nicholas Penny, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings’, vol. 2, ‘Venice 1540–1600’, London 2008; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2014Veronese: Magnificence in Renaissance VeniceThe National Gallery (London)19 March 2014 - 15 June 2014
Bibliography
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1581F. Sansovino, Venetia citta nobilissima et singolare, descritta in 14. Libri da M. Francesco Sansouino. Nella quale si contengono tutte le guerre passate, con l'attioni illustri di molti senatori. Le vite dei principi, & gli scrittori veneti del tempo loro. Le chiese, fabriche, edifici, & palazzi publichi, & priuati. Le leggi, gli ordini, & gli vsi antichi & moderni, con altre cose appresso notabili, & degne di memoria, Venice 1581
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1664M. Boschini, Le minere della pittura. Compendiosa informazione di Marco Boschini non solo delle pitture publiche di Venezia ma dell'isole ancora circonuicine, Venice 1664
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1674M. Boschini, Le ricche minere della pittura veneziana: Compendiosa informazione di Marco Boschini, non solo delle pitture publiche di Venezia, ma dell'isole ancora circonuicine, Venezia 1674
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1718B. Dal Pozzo, Le vite de' pittori, degli scultori, et architetti veronesi raccolte da varj autori, … Con la narrativa delle Pitture, e Sculture, che s'attrovano nelle Chiese, case, & altri luoghi publici, e privati di Verona, e suo Territorio, Verona 1718
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1733A.M. Zanetti, Descrizione di tutte le pubbliche pitture della città di Venezia e isole circonvicine: O sia rinnovazione delle Ricche minere di Marco Boschini, colla aggiunta di tutte le opere, che uscirono dal 1674, Venice 1733
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1771A.M. Zanetti, Della pittura veneziana e delle opere pubbliche de' veneziani maestri, Venice 1771
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1790G. Vianelli, Catalogo di quadri esistenti in casa il signor Dn. Giovanni Dr. Vianelli canonico della cattedrale di Chioggia, Venice 1790
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1815G. Moschini, Guida per la città di Venezia all'amico delle belle arti, Venice 1815
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1821A. Quadri, Otto Giorni a Venezia, Venice 1821
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1857G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], translated from German by Elizabeth Eastlake, 3 vols, London 1857, vol. 3
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1877F. Reiset, 'Une visite aux musées de Londres en 1876, V', Gazette des beaux-arts, XV, 1877, pp. 590-3
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1888P. Caliari, Paolo Veronese, sua vita e sue opere, Rome 1888
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1901A. Venturi, Storia dell'arte italiana, 11 vols, Milan 1901
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1914C. Ridolfi, Le maraviglie dell'arte, 1648, ed. D. von Hadeln, Berlin 1914
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1925D. Hadeln, 'Drawings by Paul Veronese', The Burlington Magazine, XLVII/243, 1925, pp. 298-304
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1926D. von Hadeln, Venezianische Zeichnungen der Spätrenaissance, Berlin 1926
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1927P.H. Osmond, Paolo Veronese: His Career and Work, London 1927
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1928G. Fiocco, Paolo Veronese, 1528-1588, Bologna 1928
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1928G. Nicodemi, 'Centenario di grandi artisti: Paolo Veronese', Emporium, 68, 1928, pp. 327-44
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1937C. Janson, 'L'Influence de Véronèse sur Rubens', Gazette des beaux-arts, XVII/1, 1937, pp. 26-36
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1943R. Pallucchini, Veronese, Bergamo 1943
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1944H. Tietze and E. Tietze-Conrat, The Drawings of the Venetian Painters in the 15th and 16th Centuries, New York 1944
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1958B. Berenson, Pitture italiane del Rinascimento: La scuola veneta, Florence 1958
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1959Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Venetian School, London 1959
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1959C. Gould, The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1959
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1964G. Gamulin, 'Una sconosciuta "Adorazione dei Magi" di Paolo Veronese', Arte antica e moderna, XXVII, 1964, pp. 311-4
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1968G. Piovene and R. Marini, L'opera completa del Veronese, Milan 1968
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1971G.E. Fowle, The Biblical Paintings of Sébastian Bourdon, Ann Arbor 1971
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1975C. Gould, Delaroche and Gautier: Gautier's Views on the 'Execution of Lady Jane Grey' and on other Compositions by Delaroche, London 1975
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1976T. Pignatti, Veronese: L'opera completa, Venice 1976
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1976M. Santifaller, 'Lo schema compositorio della Adorazione dei Magi" Anna Serra', in Atti del congresso internazionale di studi su Sebastiano Ricci e il suo tempo, Udine 1975, Milan 1976, pp. 151-5
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1987Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
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1989R. Kudielka, The Artist's Eye: Bridget Riley: An Exhibition of National Gallery Paintings Selected by the Artist (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 28 June - 31 August), London 1989
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1991C.-N. Cochin, II, Le voyage d'Italie de Charles-Nicolas Cochin (1758): Édité en facsimile avec une introduction et des notes [par] Christian Michel, ed. C. Michel, facsimile edn, Rome 1991
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1996N. Penny, A. Roy and M. Spring, 'Veronese's Paintings in the National Gallery, Technique and Materials: Part II', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XVII, 1996, pp. 32-55
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1998F. Pedrocco, Veronese, Florence 1998
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2001R. Cocke, Paolo Veronese: Piety and Display in an Age of Religious Reform, Aldershot 2001
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2008Penny, Nicholas, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, 2, Venice, 1540-1600, London 2008
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
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