The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, c.1545-46, Oil on canvas, Museum & Gallery at Bob Jones University, South Carolina, Courtesy of the Museum & Gallery at Bob Jones University
Jacopo Tintoretto allows the hand gestures in his painting to tell the unspoken story of this encounter between the two great monarchs. Centre stage stands the richly-dressed figure of the Queen of Sheba. She inclines her head and places her right hand across her breast in a gesture of respect. Her left hand is held over her private parts in a gesture of modesty, directly alluding to the pose of antique Venus Pudica statues.
The Queen is majestic and dignified, yet respectful and perhaps slightly wary. The dark red carpet, cascading down the steps, draws our eye towards Solomon. He dominates the space between them, seated as he is above the Queen on a canopied throne between two elaborate gilded bronze pillars that allude to the pillars of the Temple named and described in 1 Kings 7:15–22.
Solomon leans forward, his open hand of welcome seeming to contradict the gesture of the bearded courtier on his right. The Queen inclines her head as she meets Solomon’s gaze across the chequered expanse of marble floor. She has come to test him with hard questions, but first she must acknowledge him as a great king.
They are not alone in their encounter. Solomon is flanked by an array of courtiers and advisers, and the Queen is surrounded by her ‘very great retinue’ (1 Kings 10:2; 2 Chronicles 9:1) of women in rich silks and velvets. Scattered in the foreground are the Queen’s gifts—golden vessels full of spices and perfumes from Saba, which call to mind the gifts of the Magi brought to honour the Christ-child.
Tintoretto seems to be showing us the preliminary greeting between Solomon and the Queen, the courtly, theatrical formalities played out in the presence of others. The court itself looks almost like a stage-set: indeed, we know that in his early career Tintoretto worked with theatre companies in Venice. We cannot imagine, however, that the Queen would tell King Solomon ‘all that was on her mind’ (1 Kings 10:2; 2 Chronicles 9:1) in this very public setting. Soon, we might find ourselves hoping, they will retire to a more private place, perhaps to a room in the apricot-coloured building on the left, where the Queen will be free to test the King with her questions—and where the real meeting of minds will take place.
References
Krischel, Roland et al. 2018. Tintoret. Naissance d'un genie (Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux)
10 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he could not explain to her. 4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
6 And she said to the king, “The report was true which I heard in my own land of your affairs and of your wisdom, 7but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it; and behold, the half was not told me; your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report which I heard. 8Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel for ever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again came such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 Moreover the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers; no such almug wood has come or been seen, to this day.
13 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land, with her servants.
2 Chronicles 9
9 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 2And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from Solomon which he could not explain to her. 3And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
5 And she said to the king, “The report was true which I heard in my own land of your affairs and of your wisdom, 6but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it; and behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report which I heard. 7Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them for ever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 9Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones: there were no spices such as those which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 Moreover the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. 11And the king made of the algum wood steps for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers; there never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.
12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land, with her servants.
Jacopo Tintoretto
The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, c.1545-46, Oil on canvas, Museum & Gallery at Bob Jones University, South Carolina, Courtesy of the Museum & Gallery at Bob Jones University
The Stage Is Set
Jacopo Tintoretto allows the hand gestures in his painting to tell the unspoken story of this encounter between the two great monarchs. Centre stage stands the richly-dressed figure of the Queen of Sheba. She inclines her head and places her right hand across her breast in a gesture of respect. Her left hand is held over her private parts in a gesture of modesty, directly alluding to the pose of antique Venus Pudica statues.
The Queen is majestic and dignified, yet respectful and perhaps slightly wary. The dark red carpet, cascading down the steps, draws our eye towards Solomon. He dominates the space between them, seated as he is above the Queen on a canopied throne between two elaborate gilded bronze pillars that allude to the pillars of the Temple named and described in 1 Kings 7:15–22.
Solomon leans forward, his open hand of welcome seeming to contradict the gesture of the bearded courtier on his right. The Queen inclines her head as she meets Solomon’s gaze across the chequered expanse of marble floor. She has come to test him with hard questions, but first she must acknowledge him as a great king.
They are not alone in their encounter. Solomon is flanked by an array of courtiers and advisers, and the Queen is surrounded by her ‘very great retinue’ (1 Kings 10:2; 2 Chronicles 9:1) of women in rich silks and velvets. Scattered in the foreground are the Queen’s gifts—golden vessels full of spices and perfumes from Saba, which call to mind the gifts of the Magi brought to honour the Christ-child.
Tintoretto seems to be showing us the preliminary greeting between Solomon and the Queen, the courtly, theatrical formalities played out in the presence of others. The court itself looks almost like a stage-set: indeed, we know that in his early career Tintoretto worked with theatre companies in Venice. We cannot imagine, however, that the Queen would tell King Solomon ‘all that was on her mind’ (1 Kings 10:2; 2 Chronicles 9:1) in this very public setting. Soon, we might find ourselves hoping, they will retire to a more private place, perhaps to a room in the apricot-coloured building on the left, where the Queen will be free to test the King with her questions—and where the real meeting of minds will take place.
References
Krischel, Roland et al. 2018. Tintoret. Naissance d'un genie (Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux)
1 Kings 10:1–13; 2 Chronicles 9:1–12
Revised Standard Version
1 Kings 10
10 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he could not explain to her. 4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
6 And she said to the king, “The report was true which I heard in my own land of your affairs and of your wisdom, 7but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it; and behold, the half was not told me; your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report which I heard. 8Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel for ever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again came such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 Moreover the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers; no such almug wood has come or been seen, to this day.
13 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land, with her servants.
2 Chronicles 9
9 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 2And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from Solomon which he could not explain to her. 3And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
5 And she said to the king, “The report was true which I heard in my own land of your affairs and of your wisdom, 6but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it; and behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report which I heard. 7Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them for ever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 9Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones: there were no spices such as those which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 Moreover the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. 11And the king made of the algum wood steps for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers; there never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.
12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land, with her servants.
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