Plaat met de aanbidding van Jezus door de Wijzen 1528

Piero Bergantini created this ceramic plate depicting the Adoration of the Magi around the 1530s. The scene is densely packed with figures rendered in bright, almost gem-like colors. What stands out is how Bergantini constructs space and perspective. The figures are compressed, creating a sense of flatness, but the artist employs overlapping forms and variations in scale to suggest depth. Note, too, how the foreground and background, with its rocky landscape and stylized trees, seem to exist in separate registers, almost like stage sets layered one behind the other. The semiotic interplay of color and composition is striking. Blues and greens dominate the left, while warmer yellows and oranges define the right, potentially symbolizing a movement from the earthly to the divine. This division, combined with the compressed space, challenges traditional notions of Renaissance perspective. In doing so, Bergantini offers a complex meditation on the spiritual significance of the Nativity scene.