The Adoration of the Magi in the collection of the Gothenburg Museum of Art, attributed to the school of Rembrandt, was most likely painted in Rembrandt van Rijn’s studio in the early 1630s. The motif is from the biblical story of how three wise men, guided by a star, pay their respects to the newborn infant Jesus in a humble stable. In Rembrandt’s paintings from this time, there are noticeable influences from both Rubens and the so-called Utrecht school’s use of light to create intense drama. The question of who the originator is has been the subject of much discussion in regard to Rembrandt, since he throughout his career accepted pupils. The art historian Svetlana Alpers claims that the studios of Rembrandt and other artists at this time primarily were workshops that produced works in the master’s style, not necessarily painted by the master himself, whose signature was considered more like a trademark.
