Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Judgment of Solomon
Valentin de Boulogne French
Not on view
This rethinking of the picture now at the Louvre (on view in this exhibition) has puzzled scholars. At the very least, it testifies to the fame of that work. But the changes also indicate the artist’s growing interest in clarity of exposition through gesture and facial expression—ideas he shared with his compatriot Nicolas Poussin. The carefully articulated pose and commanding gesture of Solomon are especially telling.
The picture may be the one that the diamond thief/connoisseur Fabrizio Valguarnera purchased from another collector/dealer in 1631 and asked Valentin to touch up. (Valguarnera used paintings to launder his stolen jewels.)
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
