This image depicts one of the best-known events from the Christian Bible, in which three wise men bring gifts to Jesus Christ at his birth. In this interpretation of the scene from a Belgian manuscript created around 1525, one of the wise men is black.
“One could see the power in the representation of a black person or an African person in this context,” says Boyd-Pates. “These Magi are the kings who are underneath the King, which is the Christ. And I see a respect given to this section of the world that European power(s) realized was significant. This only underscores the value, the prominence, and the dignity that African people had captured in an image just like this.”
This is not just a religious scene, he says, but also speaks to the political and trade relationships between Europe and Africa.
“And these relationships are important because they not only chronicle how Europe saw their peers, but also spoke to how Europe would engage with their peers, not only religiously, not only historically, but also financially in order to economically become the power that it ultimately became,” he adds.
Hear more from Tyree Boyd-Pates as part of the audio tour for the Balthazar exhibition.
You can see this piece on view at the Getty Center through February 6,2020 as part of Balthazar: A Black African King in Medieval and Renaissance Art.