Why was The Adoration of the Kings made?
Ryan Carter, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross
We do not know the name of the patron for the Worcester Art Museum's panel painting of the Adoration of the Kings. However, we do know the identity of the patron for another version of this same scene that was painted by the same artist, Ottaviano Nelli. Later in his life Corrado de’ Trinici, the lord of Foligno (Umbria, Italy), became a great supporter of the faction that supported the Holy Roman Emperor in Italy (the Ghibellines).
The Lord of Foligno commissioned Ottaviano Nelli to create a fresco version of The Adoration of the Kings.This was made to adorn one of the lower walls in Trinici’s palace chapel at Foligno, beside some of Nelli’s other work, like The Presentation in the Temple. This example helps us to imagine the type of patronage that underlay the creation of the WAM's Adoration by Nelli.
