Jan van de Velde II
Dutch, c. 1593-1641
The Star of the Magi
INV-8018
Jan van de Velde II
Dutch, c. 1593-1641c. 1616
The Star of the Magi
Jan van de Velde II Dutch, c. 1593-1641 →engravingprint
Date
c. 1616
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
16.3 × 21.6 cm (6 7/16 × 8 9/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Langdon Pearse
Here Jan van de Velde the Younger engraved the earliest known print of so-called star-singers on Twelfth Night. This secular celebration mimicked the journey of the Three Magi, or kings, who followed the miraculous star of Bethlehem to the infant Christ. Popular in the 17th-century Dutch Republic, this Epiphany festival, held on January 6, grew beyond the church. It consisted of two parts: an indoor family feast crowning a king chosen by lottery, and a nighttime parade of singers carrying a candle-lit star from door to door. Unlike the generous Magi, the singers demanded gifts as they progressed, illuminated by their glowing paper star.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
Landscape with a Round Tower
Jan van de Velde II Dutch, c. 1593-1641
Air, plate two from The Four Elements
Jan van de Velde II (Dutch, c.1593-1641) after Willem Buytewech (Dutch, 1591/92-1624)
Fire, plate four from The Four Elements
Jan van de Velde II (Dutch, c.1593-1641) after Willem Buytewech (Dutch, 1591/92-1624)
