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Adoration Of The Magi Essay

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Adoration of the Magi
Italian Early-Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli’s “The Adoration of the Magi of 1475,” is interesting overall for its visual composition, and the narrative going on within that composition. As far as introductory details, the work probably falls into the religious painting genre, but with elements also found in Renaissance pastoral landscapes, such as the presence of Roman ruins and a muted, earthy color scheme. The work consists of tempera on wood panel, and is a fairly large 44 in x 53 in
In this section, we’ll discuss line, color, texture, space and form. As far as line, this painting contains at least two types that can be analyzed, actual physical lines, and implied lines that move the eye around the composition. …show more content…

The detail just isn’t there. Some others do a better job with fabrics, particularly some of the Dutch masters. You really get a feel of satin, or whatever fabric is depicted.
As far as space, the painting actually seems a lit cluttered, there is very little negative space but not enough to be distracting. The sky to the left and right of the main structure breaks up the positive space just enough to prevent claustrophobia. Also, the area in front of the structure seems foreshortened; it’s hard to see all those people fitting into that tiny space. The small space is perhaps necessary to focus the eye on the tiny baby Jesus. If the crowd were spread out and the scene with Joseph, Mary and Jesus were to recede, the baby would probably be too small to attract the eye.
Turning to form, we see that, in addition to the aspects of form that have already been discussed, Botticelli also makes good use of an implied triangle to lead the eye toward baby Jesus in the center. The crowds on the left and right form triangles that point toward the center; the placement of Joseph, Mary, Jesus and the man bending toward the child, forms an implied triangle; and the angle of the roof beam on the left and the brick wall on the right form a triangle that leads the eye toward the

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