A triptych: the central panel: The Adoration of the Magi; the wings: The Adoration of the Shepherds; and The Presentation in the Temple

In 1915, Max J. Friedländer became the first scholar to attempt to establish the oeuvre of the Master of the Antwerp Adoration. Distinguished by abundant draperies, a vibrant palette and elegant figures, the Master’s work is typical of the ‘Antwerp Mannerist’ style, which became increasingly prevalent in that city during the early-sixteenth century. During this period, as the dominance of Bruges began to wane, due to the decline of its trade routes after the canals connecting it to the sea became increasingly impassable, Antwerp emerged as the city of pre-eminent artistic and economic significance in the Netherlands. This coincided with the development of a new pictorial idiom, which combined influences from Italy (brought north by painters like Jan Gossaert), and more animated, flamboyant compositions, with the traditions of the meticulous oil techniques and profusion of detail that had long characterised Netherlandish painting. Working within a circle of other painters, whose styles and compositional types often interlink, the Master of the Antwerp Adoration was one of the leading exponents of this movement. Various characteristic traits of the anonymous master’s style can be identified in this triptych. For example, the physiognomy of many of the figures, especially that of Saint Joseph in the left wing and that of the kneeling king, are similar to those often used and adapted by the Master, for instance the kneeling Apostle at the far-right of The Ascension of Christ (Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum) and Saint Joseph in the Adoration Triptych after which the artist’s name was coined (Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten).
This triptych is relatively small in scale, suggesting it was probably designed for a private chapel or altar. Its composition and iconography place it within a group of triptychs displaying the Adoration of the Magi in the centre with scenes from Christ’s Infancy on the wings, all produced in Antwerp during the early-sixteenth century. These works have a somewhat complex history and are believed to have initially all been based on an original, lost triptych by the Master of 1518 (sometimes identified as Jan van Dornicke). They can essentially be sub-divided into two distinct groups: those following the example of the Master of 1518 and his workshop; and those which are closer to his apprentice and probable son-in-law, Pieter Coecke van Aelst. The distinction between these groups is not only stylistic, but also iconographic. The earlier group, which includes the present work, favoured depictions of the Nativity, or Annunciation on the left wing, and the Presentation in the Temple, or the Circumcision on the right wing; while the later group, following van Aelst, tended to represent the Annunciation on the left wing and the Flight into Egypt on the right.
Both the style and iconography of this triptych relate closely to two paintings which have variously been attributed to both the Master of the Antwerp Adoration and to the Master of 1518. One of these is now in the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, and was discussed by Friedländer as exhibiting characteristics of both painters (Early Netherlandish Painting, Leiden, 1974, XI, p. 72, no. 53 and p. 76, no. 85, pl. 53). Similarly, a single panel of the Adoration in the collection of the Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, has also been discussed in relation to the two masters (A. Born, ‘Antwerp Mannerism: a fashionable style?’, ExtravagAnt! A Forgotten Chapter of Antwerp Painting 1500-1530, K. Lohse Belkin and N. van Hout, eds., exhibition catalogue, Antwerp, 2005, p. 16). The affinities between these artists show just how complex and interlinked workshop practices were in Antwerp during the early decades of the sixteenth century, with designs and patterns of popular compositions being shared and disseminated across workshops, and suggest that painters were working together or in one another’s workshops, formulating very close stylistic relationships. Infra-red imaging of this painting reveals detailed underdrawing (fig. 1), with the folds of the drapery carefully delineated and articulated to give depth and volume. Comparison with the underdrawing of other panels of the period made in Antwerp, like the Master of 1518's Marriage of the Virgin (Saint Louis, The Saint Louis Art Museum), indicates that this was a conventional method of planning a painting, using graphic conventions similar to those used in the creation of prints and woodcuts. Even in the background of the central panel, small details have been carefully drawn out, suggesting that the painter was working closely with pre-existing drawings, meticulously transferring them onto the panel.
We are grateful to Till-Holger Borchert, Director of the Musea Brugge, Bruges, Belgium, for endorsing the attribution on the basis of photographs.