The Three Kings kneel before the Virgin Mary and infant Christ, presenting their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. This is the finest and most complex of Dolci’s paintings of The Adoration of the Kings.
The painting is in superb condition: the richness of paint and refinement of detail are extraordinary. The Kings are dressed in sumptuous robes; their gifts appear gold but are executed in paint, while the haloes of the holy family are made of real (shell) gold, as is the light radiating from the Christ Child. They seem to glow in the darkness of the stable.
Through an opening on the right we can see the Kings' exotic retinue, including camels and more turbanned figures, and a mountainous landscape, evoking their long journey from the East. Peering round the door at far right is Dolci himself, wearing a red hat: his self portrait is recognisable from other paintings. An inscription on the reverse – in his own hand – tells us that the painting was commissioned in 1649, when Dolci was 33 years old.
This painting is included in a list of works with incomplete provenance from 1933–1945; for more information see Whereabouts of paintings 1933–1945.
Text extracted from the National Gallery’s Annual Report, ‘The National Gallery Report: April 1990 – March 1991’.
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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.
