Abraham Bloemaert 1566 – 1651

Adoration of the Magi (Grenoble)

oil on canvas (424 × 290 cm) — c. 1622-1624 Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble

Abraham Bloemaert biography

This work is linked to Matthew 2:11

Large, baroque altarpiece by Bloemaert, made for the Jesuit church of Brussels. In those days the Jesuits were among the foremost commissioners of art. Peter Paul Rubens made many works for the Jesuits of Antwerp, but the Jesuits of Brussels choose Bloemaert, a painter from the northern part of the Netherlands.

The painting remained in the church for 150 years. Via Vienna it came in the collection of Napoleon. He founded an art collection in every departement of his empire, and thus this work ended up in Grenoble.