Adoration of the Magi

On ordinary days the altarpiece in Salzburg stood closed, and this scene was part of what people saw. The outer faces of its wings told the life of Mary. On feast days the wings swung open to show the Passion, and the Carrying of the Cross was painted on the back of this very panel. In the 1920s and 1930s the two sides were sawn apart so that both could be shown at once. Here the oldest king kneels in a heavy red gown, his hat and its long cord in one hand, and holds out an open box of gold coins. The Child leans from Mary's lap toward it. Behind him a young king in a green, fur-lined coat carries a tall gilded cup, and a Black king in a white tunic points down at the Child.