The Queen of Sheba and Solomon, from Old and New Testaments
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 1/2 × 5 15/16 in. (11.5 × 15.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1953
Accession Number
1975.508.1
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Queen of Sheba Solomon*, a delicate etching by the versatile German artist Augustin Hirschv, created in 1548. This intimate print (4 1/2 × 5 15/16 in.) captures a pivotal biblical encounter from the Old Testament, the wise Queen of She visits King Solomon to test his renowned wisdom, as recounted in 1 Kings 10. Part of Hirschvogel's series *Old and New Testaments it reflects the era's fascination with religious narratives amid the Protestant Reformation, blending spiritual storytelling with Renaissance precision. Hirschvogel, a Nuremberg-based master of multiple arts—including pri...
About the Artist
Augustin Hirschvogel · 1503–1553
Augustin Hirschvogel (1503–1553) was born in Nuremberg into a prominent family of stained-glass painters who dominated the city's glass workshops during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The son of Veit Hirschvogel the Elder (1461–1525), Nuremberg's official glazier who executed designs after Albrecht Dürer and Hans von Kulmbach, Augustin trained as a glass painter in his father's workshop. ...