Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d’Alemagna,
The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1444−1445, Gemäldegalerie SMB (Old Master Paintings, Berlin State Museums), detail laetentur coeli
Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d’Alemagna,
The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1444−1445, Gemäldegalerie Berlin, detail of the oldest king
BRIGIT BLASS-SIMMEN
Laetentur Coeli or the Byzantine Half of Heaven. The Adoration of the Magi by Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d’Alemagna in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, a study published in the Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, no 4/2009
The Adoration of the Magi by Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d’Alemagna tells of the Orient, the Christian and the Muslim Orient. The painting created in Venice is interpreted for the first time in this fascinatingly diverse context. As past history—simultaneously laden with present-day relevance—the references to current events, the Union Council and the attitude of the Christian world toward the Ottomans are examined. In 1438−1439, a council was held in Ferrara and Florence, in which the union between the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches was decided upon.
In the joining together of the Eastern and Western churches, Christianity saw the only possible way to defend itself against burgeoning Turkish forces, which were steadily becoming stronger. On invitation of Pope Eugene IV, the Greek emperor John VIII Palaiologos and Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople, together with an additional eighteen metropolitans and 700 high-ranking clerics and intellectuals traveled to Italy. Direct references are made to this union council in The Adoration of the Magi, and thus showing the Greek emperor John VIII Palaiologos ‘hidden’ in the ‘holy vestment’ of the oldest king. A reference to the theological question of the Holy Trinity discussed during the council session, holding that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque), is made evident through the depiction of the dove encircled by a ray-emanating halo of light, creating the center and focus of the painting.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the painting was part of the collection of the Zen family in Venice, where it was apparently always to be found. Concerning the 1438−1439 Council, a representative of this aristocratic Venetian family, Michele Zen, who held the confidential post of treasurer of the papal household, was responsible for the welfare of the Greek delegation in Venice. Over the course of many centuries, other members of the Zen family served the interests of Venice in the Orient. This therefore suggests that the painting was commissioned by a representative of the Zen family.
In the Venetian ambience and in connection with Venice’s interests as a “gateway to the Orient,” the precise attitude of that period’s political events is inherent in the painting: only united are Christians strong enough to keep peace along the Silk Road and include believers of other faiths, in order to thereby guarantee Venice the wealth of a trading republic.