Scripture · Matthew 2:11
Matthew 2:11
The Adoration of the Magi
On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Behind the kings, someone is tending the horses. While the procession bends toward the infant, the stable remains a place of work, with animals to feed and hooves to clean.
About the artwork
The circular panel gives these different activities room to coexist. A crowd winds around the hill and through an arch before reaching Mary and Jesus; closer by, people talk or attend to animals. A peacock stands on the roof. The National Gallery of Art relates it to immortality, while acknowledging that other details, including the nearby birds, remain harder to explain.
The painting is credited to Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi. Its great procession may recall Florence's public celebrations of the Magi, and the work is believed to have belonged to the Medici. That setting helps explain why the brief visit becomes a colorful event encompassing a whole social world, complete with its servants and practical tasks.
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What does Matthew 2:11 mean?
Matthew 2:11 concentrates on those who reach the child and offer their gifts. The tondo lets us notice the people who make a journey possible as well as those who formally complete it. Some kneel before Jesus; others are still traveling or working nearby. The sacred encounter occupies the center of their shared activity.
Sources
National Gallery of Art: The Adoration of the Magi.
National Gallery of Art: A close look at the tondo. Horse care, procession, proposed Medici context and the peacock; uncertain details remain qualified.
Matthew 2 — Berean Standard Bible. The paired text read in its surrounding chapter.
Also from Matthew:Marriage of the VirginThe Dream of Saint Joseph