This strangely archaic picture was painted in Antwerp at a time when Joachim Beuckelaer and Pieter Aertsen (qq.v.) had already developed an entirely new style. There are many references to the fifteenth century, especially in the pose of the Virgin and Child and the rigid way the kneeling King presents his gift.  Equally reminiscent of an earlier time is the vision of the three small angels upper left, a motif favoured by the artist, especially when painting his most frequently repeated subject, the Adoration of the Shepherds. More up to date, but still old-fashioned for the time, is the elaborate Renaissance-style architectural setting, a type which often appears in the work of Barent van Orley (q.v.).  Drawn from St. Matthew. The Three Wise Men or Magi were identified in the middle ages as Caspar, Balthasar and Melchior, bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh.

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