this post was submitted on 30 May 2026
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Trippin' Through Time
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I'm wondering if it some sort of signal, his other hand is holding his belt weirdly, so maybe something like a gang sign that his contemporaries would understand? That or that painter wanted hum reaching for his dagger, but got the arm position wrong?
Wonder no further, this MF can't paint hands
It's not the hand I'm worried about, it's the wrist! I wish I knew what painting this is from, I really want to see everyone else, and what's going on with their hands.
Journey of the Magi, on the east wall of the Magi Chapel in Florence, painted by Benozzo Gozzoli around 1459
Lol I'm sure reverse image could do you well, but I will say hand (and wrist) looks fine in top right.
We do need more samples.
Please let us know what you find, soldier.
Ok, it's a detail from the Procession of the Magi fresco in the Medici chapel in Florence, specifically part of the Procession of the youngest king. There's images of parts of it in the link above, or a full landscape here. Our chap is near the left end.
Benozzo Gozzoli, the artist, seems perfectly capable of painting hands, so it seems likely that he did this deliberately. He's included the likenesses of key members of the Medici family as the kings, and more of the family and their friends as the retinue, so it is very likely that the image represents a specific person. There's another figure, in the next panel, wearing a bright red cap, holding his hand in a similar way, so I suspect it is just supposed to show them relaxed, although the way the figure in the OP is holding his belt and staring at the viewer in an alnost challenging way makes me wonder if there is more the artist was trying to communicate.
Oh shit, you came through!
He's resting his thumb on the dagger and the weight of the arm pushes the wrist down way past the thumb anchor point. Try it out, seems pretty normal to me.