The adoration of the Magi

Details

Provenienz:
Van Ham, Köln, Auktion 222, 12.4.2003, Los 1291;
Privatbesitz, Süddeutschland.

Descrizione

Januaryius Zick (1730-1797) was certainly the most versatile artist of his family, whose members dedicated themselves to painting for five generations. His father, Johann Zick, who initially worked in his father’s blacksmith’s workshop, had “made every effort in the world to become a capable painter” – as the Munich court librarian Felix von Oefele says. The painter Jacob Carl Stauder (1694-1756) became his first teacher; however, he must have acquired the sophisticated technique of “fresco buono”, for which he later became known, elsewhere. In 1732 he was appointed court painter and valet to the Prince-Bishop of Freising, Duke Johann Theodor of Bavaria. This was followed by commissions for abbeys and churches in Upper Swabia, the decoration of the garden hall of the Würzburg Residence, the imperial hall and the furnishings of the Bruchsal Castle. Here he reproduces the short Bible passage from the Gospel of Matthew in which the Magi come to Jerusalem from the East (Mt 2:1-12). The kings and their entourage of pages and animals are grouped in a semicircle, providing a clear view of the main focus of the image – the adoration of Jesus by the kneeling king.