The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon
Artist: Edward Poynter
1890
Painting
At some stage Solomon was visited by the Queen of Sheba, who wanted to satisfy her curiosity about his wisdom and the magnificence of the buildings he had erected. She came with a great camel train laden with gifts of spices, gold and precious stones. In return Solomon gave her ‘all she desired, whatever she asked, in addition to all he gave her of his royal bounty’.
Poynter has shown the moment of their first meeting. Solomon is regal, surrounded by his court and the many beautiful foreign wives and concubines who so alarmed the writers of the Bible story.
The throne room is magnificent, the steps to the throne guarded by twelve golden lions and the throne itself made of ivory overlaid with gold. The Queen of Sheba gestures towards the many exotic gifts she has brought for Solomon. Each monarch is clearly trying to impress the other – but Solomon seems to be winning.
The Way of the Cross
Artist: Albert Pinkham Ryder
Unknown
Painting
The people here, Mary and Joseph, are the large centers of the composition, the lines of rock formation and the channelled light flowing through them in swathes of paint, their bodies undulating with the compositional flow. If they are on their way to Bethlehem, as the Bible story tells us, the journey is an allegorical one, since Joseph gestures to a small cross on a roadside wooden post, prefiguring the crucifixion of Mary's unborn child.
This oil on canvas painting is in the Addison Gallery of American Art, MA, United States
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