Reverse Copy of The Judgment of Solomon
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 3/8 × 4 11/16 in. (16.2 × 11.9 cm) Plate: 4 7/16 × 3 1/16 in. (11.2 × 7.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Ruth Peterson on behalf of the Estate of Jacob Frey, 1972
Accession Number
1972.524.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
Heinrich Aldegre's *Reverse Copy of The Judgment Solomon* (1569) is a delicate engraving capturing the iconic biblical tale from 1 Kings 3. In the scene, King Solomon wisely arbitrates a dispute between two women claiming same infant, proposing to divide the child with a sword—a test that reveals the true mother Rendered in reverse (mirrored from an earlier design), this small-scale print measures just 4 7/16 × 3 1/16 inches on the plate, inviting close inspection of its intricate details. As a master of the German Renaissance, Aldegrever belonged to the "Little Masters," renowned for their v...
About the Artist
Heinrich Aldegrever · 1502–1561
Heinrich Aldegrever, born in 1502 in Paderborn, Westphalia, to parents Herman and Katherine Trippenmeker—a family of clog-makers known by the dialect name Trippenmecker—emerged as a multifaceted artist in the German Renaissance. His early training remains undocumented, though he likely apprenticed in a Soest goldsmith's workshop after relocating there around 1525, where he joined the painters' gui...