For my piece of art, I chose to analysis the Manuscript Illumination with Adoration of the Magi which was drawn sometime between 1515 and 1525, in Ghent, Netherlands, by the Master of James IV of Scotland. Some say the artists name is Gerald Horenbout, but it is not positively determined. The medium of the drawing is Tempera, ink, and shell gold on a piece of parchment. It is 6 1/2 x 4 5/8 in. In the 16th century, religion was played a detrimental role is all actions that occurred. Kings and Queens were the leaders of their faith during this time, and their subjects were expected to follow in their footsteps.
At first glance, it seems like people are coming to visit a baby. I originally thought that the mother of the child was a queen and that it was her subjects paying tribute to their new prince or princess. That thought has now been debunked. When looking further, you can see that some of the men in the picture look to be kings and there are 3 of them. After realizing that, I made the religious connection to baby Jesus in Christianity. This makes sense considering the large role religion played in the lives of these people. There are also men kneeling in the bottom of the image and those men seem to be the Magi, kneeling before Herod. It is said that the technique, use of space, and color scheme are similar to those that can be attributed to the Master of James IV of Scotland. The colors used in this drawing are very repetitive, if you were to focus on just one of the colors, you would find that it is also used in many other areas of the drawing. The colors used are also very bright which helps to illuminate everything in the front of the drawing. Not only is the kneeling the center point of the drawing, but it is also the brightest. Even though everything in the front is emphasized, there is still special detail done in everything in the background. This shows that the artist spent lots of time and effort to be sure that this looked good.
I think that this drawing, as well as all of the others done in this time period, pay attribute to an authoritative figure. Whether is be the King or Queen of the time or a special religious figure, they all seem to resemble some figure. But this image in particular, exhibits the important of religion during the time period. The Catholic and Protestant religious were the most commonly found through Scotland and both of which put God above all other beings. This is exactly what is portrayed in the drawn image. Baby Jesus is being put above all others and being seen as the most important, and one to praise.
