including the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Medici Chapel tombs

Eckhart Gillen

the image was inspired by a lost Greek statue of Hercules dating around the mid 300s BCE

The images enabled the past to come alive before the eyes of medieval readers by relating the adventures of epic figures such as Hector of Troy

One of the finest works from the golden era of Flemish manuscript illumination

Balthazar: A Black African King in Medieval and Renaissance Art illumination including the Sistine Chapel ceilingEdited by Kristen Collins and Bryan C. Keene With an introduction by Henry Louis Gates Jr. This abundantly illustrated book examines the figure of Balthazar, one of the biblical magi, and explains how and why he came to be depicted as a Black African king. According to the Gospel of Matthew, magi from the East, following a star, traveled to Jerusalem bearing precious gifts for the infant Jesus. The magi were revered as wise men and later as kings.