''The Judgement of Solomon'' is an oil on canvas painting by
Matthias Stom, created ''c.'' 1640, representing the
Judgement of Solomon
The Judgement of Solomon is a story from the Old Testament in which Solomon ruled between two women who both claimed to be the mother of a child. Solomon ordered the baby be cut in half, with each woman to receive one half. The first woman accept ...
.
It is held in the
Museum of Fine Arts, in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
.
Description
The painting depicts the famous Biblical scene of the judgement of
Solomon
Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
, when the Hebrew king had to face two women who disputed the same child. One of the women had lost her child and claimed the other mother's child as her own. The episode is one of the most well known that illustrates the famed "wisdom of Solomon". The scene takes place in a very dark interior, where the figures are dimly illuminated, in a typical
chiaroscuro
In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...
. Solomon, seated on his throne, is dressed in red and wears his small crown upon a turban. The dead child lies at his feet. A executioner with a moustache, wearing only a loincloth, helds the living child by one of his feet, and has a sword in the other hand. He seems to be about to split the surviving child in half, so that no women can claim to be his mother anymore, like Solomon had decided. The king stares calmly and seems to be about to rule that the true mother of the child is the one who doesn't want to see him dead. Other people, probably from the king's entourage, watch or discuss the scene, some of them with a troubled look.
Provenance
The canvas was previously owned by Principe Carcafa d'Andria of
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
. It is now held in the Museum of Fine Arts, in Houston, whose purchase of it in 1970 was funded by the Laurence H. Favrot Bequest.
See also
*
List of paintings by Matthias Stom
References
External links
Google Arts and Culture entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judgement of Solomon, The
1640 paintings
Paintings by Matthias Stom
Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Paintings of the Judgement of Solomon
Oil on canvas paintings