(Antwerp 1581-1642)
The Idolatry of Solomon,
signed lower left: D° FFRANCK.IN.f (retraced),
oil on copper, 46.5 x 34 cm, framed

Provenance:
Belgian private collection

Certificate: Dr Ursula Härting, in September 2013

Ursula Härting confirmed that the painting The Idolatry of Solomon, studied in the original, is a work by the Antwerp painter Frans Francken II. In the Old Testament one may read comprehensively about the aged King Solomon, who along with his wife, a daughter of the Pharaoh, had seven-hundred princely wives and three-hundred concubines, although God forbade him the love of women from the peoples of the world (1 Kings 11, 1-13). Solomon is depicted in the act of bringing a burnt offering in the circle of some of his charming, sensual dark-skinned wives, who had misled him to worship other gods. His page lights the nocturnal sacrifice scene with a candle rod. Scenes of animal sacrifice can be discerned on the reliefs of the three-step altar underneath the deity that looks almost alive. In bright colours, under a threatening sky foreboding evil, Solomon offers a sacrifice before the altar. God punished Solomon for this and deprived him of his kingdom.

The painting has an enamelled look and is very well preserved. Diaphanous bubbles, probably representing an inebriating scent, emerge from the glass vase on the plinth before the drapery. Small details are still preserved, including the ornaments and the fold reliefs in the king’s precious ermine coat, all painted in gold. Two moralising themes appear clearly, namely that of the aging man who has lost his mental faculties and physical strength and is now blind, and that of the “power of women”. The subject of female strength was regarded as a moralising example, in comparison with the virtuous biblical women - probably not without appreciating its erotic undertones.

We are grateful to Dr Ursula Härting for her support in the cataloguing of the present painting.

Provenance:
Belgian private collection

Certificate: Dr Ursula Härting, in September 2013

Ursula Härting confirmed that the painting The Idolatry of Solomon, known to her in the original, is a work by the Antwerp painter Frans Francke