The Adoration of the Magi

between 1630 and 1635

Leonaert Bramer Dutch, 1596-1674

On View

Dutch Golden Age, Level 3, South Wing

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Like many seventeenth-century artists, Leonaert Bramer traveled to Italy, where he became acquainted not only with the art of the Italians but also with the art of other Dutch artists working there. In this dramatically illuminated nocturnal scene, Bramer intensifies the drama and the visionary quality through a rough application of paint and the nervous, flickering reflections of light. In the pronounced treatment of light and dark, the mood, and the choice of costumes, one may detect Rembrandt's influence, while the foliage and the rendering of the two angels are close to the art of Lastman.

Title The Adoration of the Magi

Artwork Date between 1630 and 1635

Artist Leonaert Bramer

Life Dates 1596-1674

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Dutch

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Oil on oak panel

Dimensions Unframed: 16 1/2 × 20 1/2 inches (41.9 × 52.1 cm) Framed: 23 5/8 × 27 3/4 × 1 1/2 inches (60 × 70.5 × 3.8 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department European Painting

Credit Founders Society Purchase, Joseph M. de Grimme Memorial Fund; and gifts from Mr. and Mrs. Edgar B. Whitcomb, Harriet Scripps, and Mr. and Mrs. Sol Eisenberg by exchange

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 1993.19

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

Earl of Haddington

Dr. E.I. Schapiro

November 30, 1979, sold by (Christie's, London, England) auction Dr. E.I. Schapiro, lot 1. until 1992, (Richard Feigen & Co., New York, New York, USA)

(Jack Kilgore, Gutekunst, New York, New York, USA)

1993-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Sumowski, W. Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler. Landau, 1983, vol. 1, pp. 44, 87, 111, note 49 (ill.).

Fox Hofrichter, F. Leonaert Bramer, 1596-1674, A Painter of the Night. Exh. cat., Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University. Milwaukee, 1992, pp. 54-55, no. 6 (ill.).

ten Brink Goldsmith, J. et al. Leonaert Bramer, 1596-1674, Ingenious Painter and Draughtsman in Rome and Delft. Exh. cat., Stedelijk Museum. Delft, 1994, pp. 106-107, no. 18 (ill.).

Vermeer and the Delft School. Exh. cat., Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2001, pp. 68-69 (fig. 77).

Keyes, George S. et al. Masters of Dutch Painting: The Detroit Institute of Arts. London, 2004, pp. 40–43, no. 13 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Leonaert Bramer, The Adoration of the Magi, between 1630 and 1635, oil on oak panel. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Joseph M. de Grimme Memorial Fund; and gifts from Mr. and Mrs. Edgar B. Whitcomb, et al., 1993.19.