Solomon's Idolatry
Lucas van Leyden · 1514 · Art Institute of Chicago
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From the museum
King Solomon, famed for possessing “the wisdom of God,” kneels at the feet of an idol of Moloch, a pagan god represented as a nude man astride an orb, holding an animal skull. One of Solomon’s 700 wives and 300 concubines points to the statue, instructing Solomon to adore Moloch. By adorning the domineering woman with a feathered hat, Lucas van Leyden emphasized her foreignness and dangerously heretical beliefs. Despite Solomon’s wisdom, his female consort, possibly the Queen of Sheba, turns his heart away from God.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Details
- Maker
- Lucas van Leyden, Netherlandish, c. 1494-1533
- Date
- 1514
- Medium
- Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
- Dimensions
- Image: 17 × 13 cm (6 3/4 × 5 1/8 in.); Plate: 17.1 × 13.5 cm (6 3/4 × 5 3/8 in.); Sheet: 18.2 × 14.1 cm (7 3/16 × 5 9/16 in.)
- Place of origin
- Netherlands
- Held by
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · Not on view
- Credit line
- Clarence Buckingham Collection
Image: Art Institute of Chicago, CC0
