Charlotte Mullins comments on The Adoration of the Magi

‘This magical picture dominates our drawing room. I am drawn to the proud, defiant figure, resplendent in marine-blue velvet and in profile, at the centre. Identified as Giovanni [a biographical dictionary] tell how it was purchased “in his gondola at night” from Signor Vitturi, a Venetian senator. You cannot miss the towering mass of humanity on the right (who were the models?), a contrast to the serene space around the . History comes alive through the knowledge of where it has hung since its creation’