The story of the magi (wise men) offering gifts to the newborn Jesus was among the most popular of biblical subjects decorating northern Iberian churches in the later twelfth century. These sculptures (see also 30.77.6, .8–.9) typically portray the scene as a courtly encounter. Here, Mary and her infant son sit enthroned underneath an honorific canopy. Two magi (once accompanied by a now-lost third magus) approach mother and child with reverent postures. All of the figures’ voluminous garments help to convey the richness of the scene, evoking the setting of a foreign delegation’s visit. At odds with the humble setting of Jesus’ birth, this elevated portrayal serves to celebrate the event. The dozing figure at right is Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus. His slumber alludes to his prophetic dreams, described in the Gospel of Matthew, which enabled him to protect his family. Sometime in the 1920s, these sculptures were photographed set into a side wall of the church of Our Lady of the Plain at Cerezo de Río Tirón, which had been abandoned at the end of the eighteenth century. Originally, the sculptures may have been located over the church’s main door.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
From the church of Nuestra Señora de la Llana at Cerezo de Rio Tirón, near Burgos; [ Raimundo Ruíz Ruíz, Burgos and Madrid (sold 1929)] ; [ Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York (1929–1930)]
New York. The Cloisters Museum & Gardens. "Spanish Medieval Art," December 15, 1954–January 30, 1955.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Year 1200: A Centennial Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 12–May 10, 1970.
New York. The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Spain, 1000–1200: Art at the Frontiers of Faith," August 30, 2021–January 30, 2022.
Porter, Arthur Kingsley. Spanish Romanesque Sculpture. Vol. 2. Florence: Pantheon Books, 1928. p. 28, Pl. 112.
Huidobro Serna, Luciano. "Moradillo de Sedano: Su iglesia parroquial, monumento románico de primer orden de la provincia III." Boletín de la Comisión Provincial de Monumentos Históricos y Artísticos de Burgos 11, no. 38 (1932). p. 257.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Sixty-Ninth Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year 1938." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 69 (1938). p. 24.
Rorimer, James J., and Margaret B. Freeman. The Cloisters: The Building and the Collection of Mediaeval Art, in Fort Tryon Park. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1938. pp. 3–6, fig. 2.
Rorimer, James J. "New Acquisitions for the Cloisters." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 33, no.5, part 2 (May 1938). pp. 8–10, fig. 6.
Rorimer, James J. The Cloisters: The Building and the Collection of Mediaeval Art in Fort Tryon Park, New York. 11th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1951. pp. 3–6, fig. 2.
Spanish Medieval Art: A Loan Exhibition in Honor of Dr. Walter W.S. Cook. New York: Institute of Fine Arts Alumni Association, 1954. no. 35.
Butler, Ruth. "Frühe spanische Kunstschätze in 'The Cloisters' von New York." Die Kunst und das schöne Heim 53, no. 12 (September 1955). p. 444.
Huidobro Serna, Luciano, and Gonzalo Miguel Ojeda. "Exposición de arte español en New York en homenaje al Profesor Walter W. S. Cook." Boletín de la Institución Fernán González 34, no. 130 (1955).
Pérez Carmona, José. Arquitectura y escultura románicas en la provincia de Burgos. Burgos: Hijos de Santiago Rodríguez, 1959. pp. 242–46, fig. 161.
Egry, Anne de. "Review of Arquitectura y escultura románicas en la Provincia de Burgos." Art Journal 20, no. 1 (1960). pp. 56–58.
Durliat, Marcel. L'art roman en Espagne. Paris: Braun & Cie, 1962. p. 74.
Gaillard, Georges. "Sculptures espagnoles de la seconde moitié du douzième siècle." In Romanesque and Gothic: Studies in Western Art. International Congress of the History of Art. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963. p. 147.
Rorimer, James J. The Cloisters: The Building and the Collection of Medieval Art in Fort Tryon Park. 3rd revised ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1963. pp. 23–25, fig. 6.
Moya, José G. "Una escultura románica inédita en Alcanadre." Archivo Español de Arte (1969). p. 205.
Hoffmann, Konrad, ed. The Year 1200: A Centennial Exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970. no. 51, pp. 43–44.
"Sculptures espagnoles de la seconde moitié du XIIe siècle." In Études d'art roman. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1972.
Rorimer, James J. Medieval Monuments at The Cloisters: As They Were and As They Are, edited by Katherine Serrell Rorimer. Revised ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972. pp. 50–51, fig. 62–63.
O'Callaghan, Joseph F. A History of Medieval Spain. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1975.
Pita Andrade, José Manuel, Juan José Martín González, and Ángel Cabo Alonso. Castilla La Vieja: León. Vol. 1. Madrid: Editorial Noguer, S. A., 1975. p. 171, fig. 102.
Meyers, Pieter, and Lambertus van Zelst. "Neutron Activation Analysis of Limestone Objects: A Pilot Study." Radiochimica Acta 24 (1977). pp. 202, 204.
Simon, David L. "Romanesque Art in American Collections. XXI. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Part I: Spain." Gesta 23, no. 2 (1984). no. 8, pp. 158–59, fig. 12.
De las Heras y Núñez, María de los Angeles. "El arte románico en La Rioja." II Semana de estudios medievales: Nájera, 5 al 9 de agosto de 1991, Semana de Estudios Medievales de Nájera, 2 (1991). p. 178.
Valdez del Álamo, Elizabeth. "The Epiphany Relief from Cerezo de Riotirón." In The Cloisters: Studies in Honor of the Fiftieth Anniversary, edited by Elizabeth C. Parker. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992. pp. 110–45, fig. 1, 3, 8, 16–17.
Palomero Aragón, Félix, and Magdalena Ilardia Gálligo. El arte románico burgalés: Un lenguaje plástico medieval actual. Arte y turismo. León: Ediciones Lancia, 1995. pp. 40, 56–57.
Rodríguez Pajares, Emilio Jesús. "Análisis de la portada románica burgalesa a través del estudio de algunas portadas del norte de la provincia de Burgos." Sautuola 6 (1999).
Boto Varela, Gerardo. Ornamento sin delito: Los seres imaginarios del claustro de Silos y sus ecos en la escultura románica peninsular. Burgos: Abadía Benedictina de Santo Domingo de Silos, 2001. pp. 135–38.
García Guinea, Miguel Ángel. Enciclopedia del románico en Castilla y León: Burgos. Vol. 2. Aguilar de Campoo: Fundacion Santa Maria la Real, Centro de Estudios, 2002. pp. 1235–37.
Hernando Garrido, José Luis. "La escultura monumental románica burgalesa: Los grandes talleres." In El arte románico en el territorio burgalés, edited by Emilio Jesús Rodríguez Pajares, and María Isabel Bringas López. Colección "arte en el territorio burgalés". Burgos: Universidad Popular para la Educación y Cultura de Burgos, 2004. pp. 174–78.
Little, Charles T. "Along the Pilgrimage Road: Ivories and the Role of Compostela." In Patrimonio artístico de Galicia y otros estudios: Homenaje al Prof. Dr. Serafín Moralejo Álvarez, edited by Ángela Franco Mata. Vol. 3. Santiago de Compostela: Xunta de Galicia, 2004. p. 166.
Valdez del Álamo, Elizabeth. "Homage to the Child King: The Adoration of the Magi in Twelfth-Century Castilian Portals." In Mittelalterliche Bauskulptur in Frankreich und Spanien: im Spannungsfeld des Chartreser Königsportals und des Pórtico de la Gloria in Santiago de Compostela, edited by Claudia Rückert, and Jochen Staebel. Frankfurt: Vervuert Verlag, 2010. pp. 251–52, 257, 260, 263–64.
Martínez Ruiz, María José, and Universitat de Barcelona. "Entre Negocios y Trapicheos: Anticuarios, Marchantes y Autoridades Eclesiásticas en las Primeras Décadas del Siglo XX; El Caso Singular de Raimundo Ruiz." In La dispersión de objetos de arte fuera de España en los siglos XIX y XX, edited by Fernando Pérez Mulet, and Immaculada Socias Batet. Barcelona, 2011. pp. 177–82, fig. 2, 3.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. 75th Anniversary ed. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 38.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.
