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The Adoration of the Magi: Re-Discovering a Christmas Story with Dr. Cornelia Danielson


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Can't make this time? A video recording will be sent to all participants after the seminar.

The Gospel of Saint Matthew first told the tale of the Adoration of the Magi but his story left out many things. What was Matthew’s motivation for telling the story? Who exactly were the magi? What was the explanation of the star they followed? Why was one of them sometimes represented as a black man? Why were they later identified as kings? How did Cosimo de’ Medici and wealthy Florentine merchants like him exploit the story as a means to justify their ends? 

Through exploring works of art from Early Christian times to the Renaissance, our conversation aims to reveal the multiple meanings behind the familiar Christmas story. 

Led by an expert on Florentine History, Cornelia Danielson Ph.D.,  we will discover the new scholarship which shifts our perspective of this classic Christmas tale. Designed to inspire curiosity and future travel to Italy, participants in this semianr will come away with increased knowledge of this story's many complex layers, and the paintings which have represented it through the ages. 

Cornelia has a PhD in art history from Columbia University and wrote her dissertation on Renaissance city planning. She is especially knowledgeable about Medici patronage.

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.

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