Judgment of Solomon

Artist Jean Tassel (French, 1608-1667)

Dateca. 1640s

CultureFrench

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

ProvenanceA. Everett Austin Jr. (1900–1957), Sarasota, Florida; purchased from Austin’s estate by the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, 1957.

Credit LineMuseum purchase, 1957

Object numberSN702

Tassel was in Rome in 1634, where he associated with Nicolas Poussin and Sebastian Bourdon. He also absorbed the sculptural forms of Raphael and the chiaroscuro of Caravaggio, fusing them in his depiction of the Judgment of Solomon. According to the story found in the biblical Book of Kings, a woman, upon the death of her child, abducted the child of another mother, who woke up to find the dead infant in place of her own. Both women argued before Solomon, who judged that the child still living should be cut in half and divided between the women. The true mother pleaded with Solomon, and her child was returned to her.

On View

On view

Location