The Master of Frankfurt is the name given to a Netherlandish painter of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century who is so-called from the presence of two of his altarpieces in the German city (the Holy Kinship now in the Historisches Museum and the Crucifixion in the Städel Gallery). He was in fact an Antwerp artist and, on the basis of an inscription in a self-portrait, was born in 1460. He is a pivotal figure in that he continued well into the sixteenth century the tradition (and drew upon the compositions) of his predecessors Rogier van der Weyden and Hugo Van der Goes (with whom, it is thought, he may have trained). At the same time, he developed a large workshop, somewhat of an innovation at the time, which permitted a more sizable production, and earned him the status (with Quentin Massys) as the founder of the Antwerp school of painting. Stephen Campbell has suggested that the Master of Frankfurt may be identifiable with Hendrik van Wueluwe, an evidently prominent artist documented in Antwerp from 1483 until 1533.

This unpublished altarpiece of the Adoration of the Magi is a characteristic work of the artist, combining its adherence to earlier Flemish prototypes with the artist's predilection for robust, rough-hewn types. The rich brocade of the drapery is as well one of the Master's trademarks, as are such details as the gold inscriptions identifying each of the kings. Other variant compositions by the Master of Frankfurt are known, the most prominent being the Adoration of the Magi in the Musée d'Art Ancien, Antwerp. Like almost all of works of the Master of Frankfurt from the sixteenth century, it is fair to assume workshop participation in the painting of the altarpiece. Although some attempts have been made to distinguish various assistants working in the shop, the very success of the compositions makes such identifications most difficult.