The scene is densely populated; central is the seated Virgin holding her Divine Child as Joseph peeks over her shoulder. The Three Kings approach from the right; the oldest kneels, his middle-aged companion stands slightly to the rear, and the youngest, from Africa, stands to the front. In the distance is a star over riders on camels. A circular arch above the scene is inhabited by angels holding an inscription. Patron saints, male to the left, the Archangel Michael, and female to right, St. Verena stand at the base. The scene rests on an architectural platform. In front of the platform on the left is a coat of arms, and on the right, the donor at prayer. In the center, flanked by angels, is an inscription in an elaborate cartouche, similar to that above, also held by the angels. Figures are in vivid interaction. The faces are round and fleshy with tiny circular chins that set off the plumpness of the cheeks, most evident in female and youthful characters, such as the angels. Hair is profuse, often curly, and for women, frequently radiating in golden streams. Drapery treatment evokes a density of fabric where folds coalesce into dense clusters. Everything seems alive, from the animated gazes of the angelic supporters to the polka-dotted dragon who breathes fire while pawing at Michael’s staff.

The panel is substantially intact except for the segment on the lower right. The donor identifies himself as a canon, matching the pose and dress of the man reading. Yet the physiognomy of the donor and the style of painting are from an arguably later date. The reverse side of the segment with the canon shows an entirely different application of the blue enamel. There may have been damage, or for some reason the donor – or his inheritor – desired a more up-to-date image.

The original composition of Rathausen’s cloister, with its sixty-seven panels illuminating its walks, must have created an extraordinary space of prayer and meditation. The Adoration of the Magi is one of the most popular narratives in the life of Christ. The inscription names the three gifts: gold, symbolic of Christ’s earthly royalty, incense, symbolic of his divinity, and myrrh, foretelling his death. The subject expounds the message that Christ came to save all people, and, although born a Jew, even from his infancy, he welcomed Gentiles as well as Abraham’s descendants. The kings’ coming from afar was invariably indicated through the depiction of exotic beasts of burden, such as camels, shown here in the distance. Appealing as well was the juxtaposition of opposites: men of erudition, wealth, and status, kneeling down to honor an infant, born in a stable and son of a carpenter. Over time, depictions of the kings symbolized three ages of man: youth, maturity, and old age; by the late Middle Ages, one of the kings was usually represented as African to emphasize the global message. In the Rathausen panel, dress reinforces difference; for example, the broad-brimmed hat and rakish moustaches of the second Magus contrasts with the exotic turban of the king from Africa.

The supporters, in typical male and female division, show Michael transfixing the dragon with a cruciform staff and St. Verena, the patroness of Zurzach (Herder Lexikon, 1968–76, 8, cols. 542–43). St. Verena is a saint solidly set within Swiss tradition. She was associated with the St. Maurice of the Theban Legion, who frequently appears as a patron in Swiss corporate and personal histories. Legend asserted that families could travel with soldiers to administer to their needs; Verena was seen as engaged to St. Victor, one of the soldiers under St. Maurice. After the conversion of the legion en masse to Christianity, the soldiers were martyred together in 286. Afterwards, Verena lived the life of a recluse, first in Solothurn, then in a cave near Zurich. Skilled in nursing from her experience as a military support staff, she helped local families, especially young girls. She was renowned for caring for the poor and the sick, even the lepers, bringing them food and medicine, symbolized by the pitcher and comb in her hand.

Cited in:
Garland sale, 1924, no. 335, illustration showing the window in its original casement.
Hayward, 1989, pp. 72–73.
Raguin, 2024, vol. 1, pp. 24–26, 165–73.