The Adoration of the Magi

Category

Library Item

Item no

32950

Title

The Adoration of the Magi

Description

Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor Franz Joseph I and Sultan Mehmed V as the three magi, presenting gifts of war to Mary, Jesus, and Joseph.

Artist / maker

Raemaekers, Louis

Date

1916

Size

25.1 x 34.6 cm

Type

Chromolithograph

Location

Art and Design Library

Copyright

Louis Raemaekaers' drawings are reproduced by kind permission of the Louis Raemaekers Foundation.

This work serves as the frontispiece to the first volume of Raemaekers' cartoons published by the Fine Art Society Ltd., 'The Great War: A Neutral's Indictment.' Raemaekers plays on the traditional composition of the Biblical story of the Adoration of the Magi. The leaders of the Central Powers, German Kaiser Wilhelm II, Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I, and Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V stand in for the three magi. Rather than presenting the Virgin and Child with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, they present symbols of war, like a missile and a bloody scimitar. The Christ Child cowers into his mother's breast in fear, and Mary looks down in shame. A battlefield filled with smoke and chaos illustrates the destruction they have presented to the world. Raemaekers often used traditional Biblical themes and compositions in his drawings to mock the Central Powers for their false piety.

The Louis Raemaekers Foundation have published a book of his works entitled, 'Louis Raemaekers - with pen and pencil as a weapon'.

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Religion > Religious gods and goddesses > Gods & Goddesses