PROVENANCE: Prince Murat, Château de Chambley, Oise, France; Murat sale, Paris (Hotel Drouot), May 5, 1961, no. 116; David Koetser, Zurich, Switzerland, until 1967; BJU, 1967.

Lange Jan (or "tall John") was born into a wealthy family in the German city of Münster . As a youth he studied philosophy, and not until he moved to Antwerp around 1626 did he first take up painting. He began his training in the studio of Jacob Jordaens at the late age of 22. He probably had some degree of contact with van Dyck in the following years. He certainly began working with Rubens by 1635, the year that he received his first recorded commissions, about one year after his reception into the Guild of St. Luke. Like his great predecessors, Boeckhorst traveled to Italy and was markedly influenced by the 16th-century Venetian masters. Boeckhorst was one of Rubens' most important followers (rivaling van Dyck and Jordaens). However, since much of his work is either unsigned or wrongly attributed and a firm oeuvre has not been established, a more deserved rank among his contemporaries has eluded him.

Scholars agree that the Adoration of the Magi is one of the finest, if not the finest, works by Boeckhorst in the fullness of his maturity. It displays the best amalgamation of influences from Rubens, Jordaens, and especially van Dyck with a distinct touch of the artist's own hand. It is a masterpiece illustrating the high baroque style through one of the most popular subjects of the era. This theme allowed artists to feature the pageantry of the Magi as they presented their sumptuous gifts to the King of Kings. Boeckhorst orders the composition through three distinct groupings: the soldiers and servants to the left, the Magi in the center, and the Holy Family to the right. Each is an exploration of attenuated movement mingled with profound intensity and calm. Pictorial richness is manifested in the treatment of saturated colors, the billowing drapery, wafting incense, and the playful putti that tumble in the heavenly beam of light.