relief (4th century), Vatican , mid-15th century In the earliest depictions, the Magi are shown wearing Persian dress of trousers and
Phrygian caps, usually in profile, advancing in step with their gifts held out before them. These images adapt
Late Antique poses for barbarians submitting to an Emperor, and presenting golden wreaths, and indeed relate to images of
tribute-bearers from various Mediterranean and ancient Near Eastern cultures going back many centuries. The earliest are from
catacomb paintings and
sarcophagus reliefs of the 4th century. Crowns are first seen in the 10th century, mostly in the West, where their dress had by that time lost any Oriental flavour in most cases. The standard Byzantine depiction of the Nativity included the journey or arrival of the mounted Magi in the background, but not them presenting their gifts, until the post-Byzantine period, when the western depiction was often adapted to an
icon style. Later Byzantine images often show small pill-box like hats, whose significance is disputed. The Magi are usually shown as the same age until about this period, but then the idea of depicting the three ages of man is introduced: a particularly beautiful example is seen on the façade of the
cathedral of Orvieto. Occasionally from the 12th century, and very often in Northern Europe from the 15th, the Magi are also made to represent the three known parts of the world: Balthasar is very commonly cast as a young African or Moor, and old Caspar is given Oriental features or, more often, dress. Melchior represents Europe and
middle age. Early Renaissance paintings of this theme, such as by Fra Angelico and Fra Lippi, emphasize the pomp and pageantry of the scene. From the 14th century onward, large retinues are often shown, the gifts are contained in spectacular pieces of
goldsmith work, and the Magi's clothes are given increasing attention. In the Greek world, Cretan painter
Michael Damaskinos revitalized the Greek Italian Byzantine style by mixing it with Venetian painting in his rendition of the
Adoration of the Magi around 1590. The island of Crete was held by the
Venetian Empire, and the painting style was known as the
Cretan School. ,
Monforte Altarpiece, , 1510–15 The scene often includes a fair diversity of animals as well: the ox and ass from the
Nativity scene are usually there, but also the horses, camels, dogs, and falcons of the kings and their retinue, and sometimes other animals, such as birds in the rafters of the stable. From the 15th century onwards, the Adoration of the Magi is quite often conflated with the
Adoration of the Shepherds from the account in the
Gospel of Luke (2:8–20), an opportunity to bring in yet more human and animal diversity; in some compositions (
triptychs for example), the two scenes are contrasted or set as pendants to the central scene, usually a
Nativity. The "adoration" of the Magi at the crib is the usual subject, but their arrival, called the "Procession of the Magi", is often shown in the distant background of a Nativity scene (usual in Byzantine icons), or as a separate subject, for example in the
Magi Chapel frescos by
Benozzo Gozzoli in the
Palazzo Medici Riccardi,
Florence. Other subjects include the Journey of the Magi, where they and perhaps their retinue are the only figures, usually shown following the
Star of Bethlehem, and there are relatively uncommon scenes of their meeting with
Herod and the
Dream of the Magi. The usefulness of the subject to the Church and the technical challenges involved in representing it have made the Adoration of the Magi a favorite subject of Christian art: chiefly painting, but also sculpture and even music (as in
Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera
Amahl and the Night Visitors). The subject matter is also found in
stained glass. The first figural stained glass window made in the United States is the "Adoration of the Magi" window located at Christ Church, Pelham, New York and designed in 1843 by the founder and first rector's son,
William Jay Bolton. ==Treatments by individual artists==