Discovering Anaga I

There is in Taganana a treasure for all to see. It is located in the Church of Nuestra Señora de Las Nieves and is part of the artistic and historical heritage of the area. Taganana can be proud to have one of the few pictorial manifestations of the XVI century of Flemish origin that are still preserved in the Canary Islands: the triptych of “The Adoration of the Kings”. The exact moment of the arrival of this work to Tenerife is unknown, but it is related to the commercial exchange of that time between the Canary Islands and Flanders, due to the sugar mills.

Influential people linked to Anaga, such as Melchor de Armas and Pedro Westeling van Cutseghen, participated in the acquisition of this triptych. The first was mayor of Taganana in 1566 (yes, Tagangna had its own mayor), being the beneficiary of some of the lands granted there to his father Juan de Armas, by the adelantado Alonso Fernandez de Lugo. The latter was the owner of the Afur sugar mill since 1574 and of several plots of land in the area.

The oldest and most reliable record of the arrival of “La adoración de los Reyes” in Taganana is found in an inventory of 1577. Two years earlier, 1575, is the date taken to date its manufacture in the workshop of Marcellus Coffermans in the city of Antwerp.

The triptych was highly appreciated at that time, the wealthy families, with great religious devotion, had in their homes a religious room, an oratory where these works were exhibited. The triptychs could be closed, being folded until the moment of the religious act, so it is believed that this work was dismembered to incorporate the different panels to the main altarpiece. It was in 1936 when a doctor with a fondness for painting recognized the loose pieces as part of a whole of great artistic value and promoted their assembly and corresponding restoration.

A 16th century work

The triptych of the Adoration of the Kings is a 16th century Flemish work in oil on wood, depicting different scenes from the life of Jesus. In the center, there is a representation of the Virgin, Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus, together with the Three Wise Men contemplating the scene. The Nativity is depicted on the left. And the Circumcision, in the right wing. The main scene, the central one, is the richest and most elaborate. The Three Kings are represented with different ages and technical features, referring to Europe, Asia and Africa. Marcellus Coffermans’ brushwork shows a taste for detail, which is evident in the delicacy of the faces and the treatment of the jewels.