Both the composition and the use of colour in this painting are reminiscent of Pieter Paul Rubens. But unlike Rubens, Seghers’ figures clearly stand out against their surroundings. They crowd around to catch a glimpse of the Christ child. However, the composition around the central figures, the holy family and the three kings, is serene. The eldest of the three kings, Melchior, kneels before Christ and is blessed, while Caspar (the middle-aged man with a beard) and Balthazar (the young, black king) wait to offer their gifts. The painting originally hung in St Donatian’s Church in Bruges, which was demolished after 1799.

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Seghers’ early oeuvre is characterized by his trip to Italy as a young man. There, he fell under the spell of the Caravaggisti; 17th-century painters who emulated the style of the Italian master Caravaggio. From then on, Seghers mainly used a dark palette and painted in strong light-dark contrasts, also known as chiaroscuro. From 1630, Seghers became inspired by Rubens and he swapped his use of dark colour for a much lighter palette, as he did here in the Adoration of the Magi, for the first time. This work is therefore considered a stylistic turning point in Seghers’ oeuvre.

This artwork is the property of the Church of Our Lady in Bruges and is managed by Musea Brugge.