Adoration of the Magi

Titian

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Period

Renaissance

Theme

Daily Life

Medium

oil on canvas

Current Location

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland

The Story

The Entombment is a 1559 oil-on-canvas painting by the Venetian painter Titian, commissioned by Philip II of Spain. It depicts the burial of Jesus in a stone sarcophagus, which is decorated with depictions of Cain and Abel and the binding of Isaac. The painting measures 137 cm × 175 cm (54 in × 69 in) and is now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. 1520 made for the Duke of Mantua and now in the Louvre. The painting is the second of this subject commissioned from Titian by Philip II of Spain.

A smaller version of 1557 was lost on its journey to Spain. This second larger version was sent to Spain in 1559 along with Titian's Diana and Callisto and Diana and Actaeon, arrived at El Escorial in 1574, where it was displayed in the Iglesia Vieja (Old Church) beside two other paintings by Titian: his Adoration of the Magi and his 1567 second version of Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence. Titian copies elements of this painting in his later 1572 version given to Antonio Pérez.

Executed in oil on canvas, measuring Framed: 168 x 250 x 14 cm (66 1/8 x 98 7/16 x 5 1/2 in.); Unframed: 134.5 x 217 cm (52 15/16 x 85 7/16 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Titian builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.

“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”

What the painting depicts

Jesus Christ, entombment of Christ, Mary, Mary Magdalene, John the Evangelist, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus.

From the museum

Adoration of the Magi, 1500s. Titian (Italian, c. 1488–1576), and Workshop. Oil on canvas; framed: 168 x 250 x 14 cm (66 1/8 x 98 7/16 x 5 1/2 in.); unframed: 134.5 x 217 cm (52 15/16 x 85 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund, 1957.150

Accession: 1957.150. Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund

Materials & technique

Materials: oil paint, canvas.

Technique: oil on canvas.

Provenance

Walsh Porter (died 1810), upon his death, held in trust by the estate Estate of Walsh Porter (unsold, Christie's, London, April 14, 1810, no. 38; unsold, Christie's, London, June 21, 1811, no. 40; sold, Christie's, London, May 6, 1826, no. 7) Samuel Rogers (sold, Christie's, London, May 2, 1856, no. 700, to Mr. Ripp); Hugh A. J. Munro of Novar (1797-1864), upon his death, held in trust by the estate Estate of Hugh A. J. Munro of Novar, (unsold, Christie's, London, May 18, 1867, no. 183; sold, Christie's, London, June 1, 1878, no. 121, to C. Butler) Butler Johnstone, 1881 William Graham (1817-1885), upon his death, held in trust by the estate Estate of William Graham (sold, Christie's, London, April 10, 1886, no. 472) J. Stewart Hodgson (sold, Christie's, London, June 3, 1893, no. 31) Ralph Brocklebank (sale: Christie's, London, July 7, 1922, no. 112) Julius Bohler, Munich Durlacher Brothers, London and New York Arthur Sachs [1880-1975] sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Where to see Adoration of the Magi

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. View on the museum’s official page.

See more works at Cleveland Museum of Art or browse the full Titian collection.

A restrained palette and sculptural lighting create a solemn geometry. The wooden crate and letter anchor the narrative with journalistic precision.

Sources

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entombment_(Titian%2C_1559) (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Museum: https://clevelandart.org/art/1957.150
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 3.0.