Presentation to the Magi, slate 17th century

Painting on slate, 17th century.

Worked in northern Italy.

The Veronese school produced refined and precious works painted on agate, marble, alabaster, jasper, lapis lazuli and amethyst for the great aristocratic families, such as the Medici in Florence and the Borghese in Rome. Antonio Tempesta became the leading figure of the genre. Among these supports, black jasper held a special place. Known as paragone, a term comparable to “touchstone” in alchemical vocabulary, it gathered black stones under a nobler name and was especially prized in the Borghese collections. Our painting belongs to the tradition of these prestigious commissions.

plate size: 37x23,5 cm