Today's Holy-day Art (EPIPHANY) | "Three Wise Men" by Kehinde Wiley

AOA NEWS
By Ernest O. Britton

Three Wise Men Greeting Entry Into Lagos (2008),  By Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977),
Oil on canvas, 71 3/4 x 95 3/4 inches, Frances & Joseph Nash Field Fund

Today, January 6 is the Christian Holy Day, the Feast of the Epiphany commemorating the visitation by the Biblical Magi (Wise Men) to the Baby Jesus. In religious art, this day is marked by imagery commonly known as "The Adoration of the Magi" in which the three kings, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worship him. Two historically traditional representations by artists include Leonardo da Vinci's "The Adoration of the Magi" (1480-1481) at the Uffizi Gallery and Rembrandt's "Adoration of the Magi" (1632). A watercolor which bridges the periods of the high days of Christian art with that of contemporary art is "The Wise Men On Their Way to Bethlehem" by James Tissot, (1886-96). Finally, two contemporary approaches, in addition to Wiley's include: He Qi's "The Magi" (2002) and Gottfried Helnwein's "Epiphany I (Adoration of the Magi)" (1996) at the Denver Art Museum.