Adoration of the Magi 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
Adoration of the Magi (Rubens, Antwerp) Adoration of the Magi (Rubens, Antwerp) The Adoration of the Magi is a 1624 oil on canvas painting by Peter Paul Rubens, measuring 218 cm by 280 cm. It was commissioned by Matthæus Yrsselius, abbot of St. Michael's Abbey, Antwerp, as an altarpiece, and paid for in two instalments of 750 guilders each in 1624 and 1626. The Virgin Mary is thought to have been modelled on Rubens' first wife Isabella Brant. The painting is now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. The painting is an important story arc in the comic book album ""De Raap van Rubens""