Adoration of the Magi (oil on canvas)

The Madonna and Child are enthroned against a backdrop of classical buildings with St Joseph standing behind. Caspar, instead of offering his gift which is on the ground with his turban, is kissing Christ's foot. There are a large retinue of attendants and a giraffe and a leopard to denote the exotic country from whence the wise men, or kings, called Magi, came. Painted by Ludovico Cardi, in 1605, this painting was formerly in the Albizzi Chapel, San Pier Maggiore, Florence. The church was destroyed in 1784 and this picture was subsequently acquired in 1790 by Richard Colt Hoare (1758-1838) of Stourhead who arranged his best pictures around this huge altarpiece.