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Publication Date

2025

Keywords

Renaissance art, essay, Christian

Abstract

Western European medieval and Early Modem art history is full of representations of ethnically diverse peoples. However, there are relatively few examples of scholarly publications that coherently organize these visual representations into a complete analysis of the topic. One recent publication that aims to do just that is Balthazar: A Black African King in Medieval and Renaissance Art. The slim paperback boasts 121 full-color illustrations and features a collection of essays and narratives edited by museum curator Kristen Collins and art historian Bryan C. Keene. The book was published as a companion to the 2019 exhibition of the same title held at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The exhibition showcased a diverse range of artworks from various media, including illuminated manuscripts, paintings, and sculptures that featured the figure of Balthazar, one of the three magi described in the Bible as having traveled from Eastern lands to pay homage to the newly born Christ child. By the eighth century, the geographic origins of the three magi became more closely associated with the three then-known continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, effectively defining each magus according to their respective homeland. Subsequently, the figure of Balthazar became associated with Africa and was described and visually depicted as a black man by the late tenth and early eleventh centuries.

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