The Judgment of Solomon
Artist
Baron Gustaaf Wappers
(Belgian, 1803 - 1874)
Date1852
Object number70.0747
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions77 3/4 x 59 1/16 in. (197.5 x 150 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineMuseo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.
On View
Not on viewDescriptionWappers painted a well-known biblical story, Solomon’s judgement, as taking place in an Egyptian interior. The androgynous figure of King Solomon, here adorned with the regal uraeus headdress and necklace of a pharaoh, commands our attention in the center of the canvas. As he holds the baby he has threatened to cut in two, the real mother pleads for the king to give it to the other woman (not seen in the painting). Many nineteenth-century artists were fascinated by ancient Egypt, which had become popular thanks to excavations, engravings and photographs. The frieze behind the figures is clearly of Egyptian inspiration.
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