L'Adoration des mages

This circular panel, a tondo, shows the three kings arriving to honour the newborn Christ, their long retinue winding back through a ruined townscape. The format was a Florentine fashion of the mid-15th century, often made for wealthy households, and the Medici are recorded among the owners. Scholars have long seen two hands at work here. Serene, almost weightless faces in the manner of Fra Angelico sit beside more individual, particular features associated with Fra Filippo Lippi, who is generally thought to have carried the picture to completion. Exactly who painted which figure remains unsettled.