Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci

The Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci is an oil painting commissioned by the monks of the church of San Donato in Scopeto for the altar.
Leonardo left the work unfinished when he departed to Milan to join the court of Ludovico Sforza. It remained with his friend Amerigo Benci and later became part of the Medici family collection. Today it is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, in the same room that houses his other masterpiece, the Annunciation.

In the foreground, the painting displays the Virgin Mary holding the Baby Jesus, surrounded by the Magi, kneeling in adoration, and a crowd of people. In the background two trees - the bay as a symbol of triumph, palms as a symbol of martyrdom - divide two scenes: the first is a fight, which represents the folly of humans who have failed to receive the Christian message, the second depicts the Fall of the Temple of Jerusalem.
The boy who appears on the right might be a self-portrait of Leonardo.

A recent restoration revived the painting’s original colours.