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This painting was originally part of an altarpiece. It was one of twelve panels made for an altar in a castle at Nuremberg, Germany. Three kings are visiting the baby Jesus and his mother Mary. The two standing kings hold containers of frankincense and myrrh, and king kneeling before the baby offers a box filled with gold. Nuremburg, Germany was a center for making gold and silver containers, and many artists learned goldsmithing as well other arts like painting. The unusual containers held by the kings are important clues that tell us this artist was familiar with Nuremberg and its traditions. In fact he became a citizen of Nuremberg in 1511 and established a workshop there.

Stables or landscapes usually make up the background of paintings of the three kings or magi visiting the baby Jesus and Mary. Notice that the background in this painting looks like the walls of a castle. It could be that the artist and the patron who commissioned the painting chose this background because the finished altarpiece would be installed in a castle.

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