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The Idolatry of Solomon

Creator

German Artist · 1530–present

Naïveté and figures wearing flamboyant, exaggeratedly fashionable costumes typical of the court dress of southern Germany characterize this artist's style. The Monogrammist A.S., named after the initials of his signature, remains unidentified, and his works are rare. Matching an etched design on a pewter dish with a drawing signed with the initials *A.S.,* however, scholars have discovered that th

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Date: about 1530
Medium: Pen and dark brown ink
Culture: German
Department: Drawings
Institution: Getty Museum
Object ID: dba55464-21f8-4b66-9e59-ff8387e73104

From the Getty Museum record

Wearing a crown and the Order of the Golden Fleece around his neck, Solomon kneels to worship a statue on the pedestal. Toward the end of his life, the king became increasingly obsessed with pagan cults, which contributed to the decline and finally to the division of his kingdom. In the 1500s, artists from Protestant countries used the subject of Solomon's idolatry to warn against the use of imagery in the Roman Catholic Church. The rich costumes, the lavish floor covering and carved pedestal, and the rare pet monkey in the corner all show that this room belongs to a noble individual. The large paintings hanging on the back wall show battle scenes, with soldiers proceeding along the roads in the distance. The flamboyant robes and feathered hats resemble those worn by courtiers from southern Germany in the early 1500s, which suggests that the artist came from this region.

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