Adoration of the Magi

In it we can recognise one of the episodes of Christ's childhood, the presentation of the Magi to the Holy Family. An ancient tradition associates the Three Kings with the three ages of life or with the three continents then known. Melchior represents Europe and is the eldest, the richest and the most submissive to the Virgin and the Infant Jesus, symbolising its Christianisation. Gaspar and Balthazar personify Asia and Africa. The first offers a chest of gold and the second symbolises the faith of men, represented by hands joined in prayer.