Adoration of the Magi (detail)
by GENTILE DA FABRIANO, Tempera on wood
The banker Palla Strozzi, who commissioned the work, had himself portrayed with his son immediately behind the youngest king. It is not just the magnificent decoration of the work and the exotic animals which refer to the courtly culture; the kneeling squire fastening the spur of the king presenting his gift is also a chivalrous motif.