“Benozzo Gozzoli created Journey of the Magi for the Medici family in Italy in 1459. The Medici were members of a Florentine confraternity that celebrated the journey of the magi to Bethlehem every five years by parading the streets of Florence.
“The Medici often commissioned artworks depicting the magi to display their association with the confraternity. The landscape in the painting resembles Florence, and includes castles and villas owned by the Medici family. Some of the prominent figures in the painting are portraits of Medici family members, such as Piero the Gouty (on the white horse at the left, leading the procession), Cosimo (riding the donkey behind Piero), Piero’s children, Guiliano and Lorenzo, and Benozzo himself. The Florentines in the procession can be identified by their red costumes. The landscape is repetitive, unifying the composition and giving the painting a tapestry-like effect. Tapestries were prestigious commodities in renaissance Europe. Benozzo successfully combines the patterning of tapestries with a Florentine interest in broad panoramic landscapes, strongly modeled figures, animals seen in perspective, and attention to detail in this painting. ”