(b. ca. 1375, Verona, d. 1451, Verona)

Adoration of the Magi 1435 Tempera on panel, 72 x 47 cm Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

Signed and dated in the lower part of the panel: "Stefanus pinxit 1435." The unidentified coat of arms of the donor appears with the inscription.

A late work, this painting is clearly derived from the famous version of the same subject by Gentile da Fabriano (now in the Uffizi). Both paintings reveal the influence of the Veronese painter Altichiero. Stefano's panel also reflects the new Milanese art typified by Michelino da Besozzo, with its degree of naivete and its esthetic refinement. The composition here is divided into two registers, or two fields of space, united by a bird's eye view. The first is a semicircular crowd of figures; the second is laid out in a meander pattern that includes a number of separate episodes. The whole is closely integrated, as in an illuminated manuscript initial.

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Author: STEFANO DA ZEVIO Title: Adoration of the Magi Time-line: 1401-1450 School: Italian Form: painting