Solomon's Idolatry

Prints and Drawings

1514

Lucas van Leyden
Netherlandish, c. 1494-1533

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.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Lucas van Leyden
Title: Solomon's Idolatry
Place: Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 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.)
Credit Line: Clarence Buckingham Collection
Reference Number: 1938.1579
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/106574/manifest.json

Volbehr 28

Hollstein 30 I/I

Bartsch 30

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.