PRAGUE: A NEW CAPITAL
Painted in a style derived from Bologna, this diptych demonstrates Prague’s close ties to Italy. Emperor Charles IV corresponded with the humanist Petrarch and even brought him to the city. Prague’s humanists, among them Jan of Středy (1310–1380), chancellor to Charles IV, received their education in Padua and Bologna. On the left panel, the central magus, with the imperial eagle on his mantle, bears the distinctive features of Charles IV. In the Dormition, St. Peter’s threefold tiara identifies him as pope. The two wings of the diptych thus balance imperial and papal power. The pope to which the diptych refers would be Innocent VI (r. 1352–62).
Adoration of the Magi and Dormition of the Virgin
Czech Republic (Bohemia), Prague, ca. 1360
The Morgan Library & Museum, AZAZ 22
Purchased by J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1931