Adoration of the Magi

Around 1490, when this panel was painted, Vienna had only just returned to Habsburg rule. King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary had taken the city in 1485 and kept his court there until he died in April 1490, and that August Maximilian, the emperor's son, won it back. At the bottom of the picture sits the red-white-red Austrian shield, under a crowned helmet with a spray of peacock feathers, the crest of the Austrian dukes. The Holy Family sits in front of a patched wooden shed and a broken stone wall, and a road winds away towards walled towns. The oldest king kneels and raises the Child's hand to his lips, his hat laid on the ground. The youngest, a Black king, waits at the side in a short yellow tunic, red hose and long pointed shoes.