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THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI |
1481~82, 246*243cm, Yellow ochre and brown ink on
panel
This Adoration of the Magi is perhaps one of Leonardo's
strangest and most fertile compositions. By combining figures
of pleading old men and armed horsemen, he transformed a
banal biblical subject into a scene from human history. At the
same time, he took the technique of non finito to its
extreme. The figures and architectural elements boldly
delineated and filled out in earth colours on the five boards
that make up this panel anticipate the type of sketchwork
that will characterize modern art. This picture is remarkable
for its extreme concentration and power. Leonardo's
contemporaries erroneously assumed that it was unfinished.
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