Adoration of the Magi by Konrad Witz

Konrad Witz (c 1400-1445) - Adoration of the Magi (c 1444)
New Zealand 3c Stamp Issued Christmas 1974
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva, Switzerland

The majority of Witz's work was completed altarpieces during his lifetime, which have since been dismantled and displayed in various art galleries - his art was completed on many medium, including wood and cloth.  The German artist was known for his scenes of realism - he was probably influenced by Flemish artists like Jan van Eyck, even though Witz probably spent all his working life in Basel.

He did not use mystical symbolism although it was very popular in northern Europe at the time - his work is more immediate and real to the viewer.  Witz is best known at the artist who completed the first outdoor landscape of a real site, being Lake Geneva, in 1444.  The painting was called The Miraculous Draft of Fishes.  He worked the majority of his life in the Painters Guild in Basel, but little is known about his training.