Getty Museum

Border with the Queen of Sheba before King Solomon

Simon Bening

Date: about 1525–1530
Medium: Tempera colors, gold paint, and gold leaf
Culture: Flemish
Department: Manuscripts
Institution: Getty Museum

Intrigued by reports of King Solomon's legendary wisdom, the Queen of Sheba visits him in Jerusalem, kneeling down with two of her attendants to present him with sumptuous gold and spices. Simon Bening constructed the scene as if it were taking place behind a text-panel that discusses the story of the Adoration of the Magi. This image of the Queen and her handmaidens approaching the wise king with gifts echoes that of the three kings visiting the baby Jesus seen on the facing page. Bening used this artistic strategy to help the viewer make the connection between the Old Testament and New Testament stories of visiting royalty.

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Creator

Simon Bening

Flemish Illuminator · 1483–1561

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Artist

One of the most celebrated painters of Flanders in the 1500s, Simon Bening was hailed by Portuguese art critic Francisco da Hollanda as the greatest master of illumination in all of Europe. In addition to producing books for powerful aristocrats such as Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, Bening worked for a group of international royal patrons including Emperor Charles V and Don Fernando, the Infan