Balthazar

"This beautifully illustrated book on Balthazar, the African king believed to be one of the "wise men" who traveled from afar to acknowledge the divinity of the infant Christ, is a real gift. The range of related topics covered spreads out into the early modern world-the rise of African kingdoms as well as pertinent aspects of the slave trade-something readers today are looking for. The authors, experts all, know how to write concisely and to be enjoyed as well as impart insight."- Joaneath Spicer, The James A. Murnaghan Curator of Renaissance and Baroque Art, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; "This gorgeously illustrated volume gathers together cutting-edge articles to probe the image of the Black magus in European art. As a marker of real historical contacts, imaginary kingdoms, and known Christian princes, the presence of the Black king at the scene of Christ's Nativity is here read within a diverse range of possible interpretations. The book's strength is its polyvocality: no one story is put forward to explain the Black Balthazar. Rather, it tells the complicated history of the early modern period, in which connections among a whole variety of sub-Saharan African communities and western Europe were on the rise. Balthazar: A Black African King in Medieval and Renaissance Art is required reading for those curious about how the past informs current debates about race in the West."-Sarah M. Guerin, Assistant Professor, History of Art, University of Pennsylvania