The Adoration of the Magi

Raphael rendered this Adoration of the Magi as part of the predella for the Oddi Altarpiece, one of his early masterworks. The three Wise Men present gifts to the Christ Child while the Virgin Mary holds her son with gentle dignity. Raphael's composition achieves the balanced harmony and graceful figures that would define High Renaissance art.

Though painted in his early twenties, this work already shows Raphael's extraordinary gift for clear narrative and elegant arrangement. The predella panels depicted scenes from Christ's infancy, complementing the main altarpiece above. The painting now resides at the Pinacoteca Vaticana in Vatican City.