One of the most artistically alluring Christmas themes is the one known as the Adoration of the Kings. The exotic story of the three rulers of faraway kingdoms, led by a star to Bethlehem to greet a newborn son of God, has long excited the imagination of both the faithful and the artists attempting to paint them in the most interesting way possible. The National Gallery in London, one of the most well-endowed repositories of fine art in the world, has a resplendent collection of masterpieces on this theme. They would all have been on display just in time for Christmas and Epiphany if not for the fact that London had to undergo a second, traumatic lockdown. The world’s art treasures have all gone back to online viewing.

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