(Antwerp active circa 1649–1677)
The Queen of Sheba before King Salomon,
indistinctly inscribed lower center left,
oil on canvas, 135.5 x 206 cm, framed

Provenance:
with Galleria Locatelli, Bergamo;
Private collection, Rome;
where acquired by the present owner

We are grateful to Bert Schepers for suggesting the attribution of the present painting on the basis of a high resolution digital photograph.

Pauwels Casteels became a master in the Antwerp guild of St. Luke between 1649 and 1650. His work was influenced by Pieter Snayers and Pieter Meulenaer, whose colour palette he adopted. Pauwels Casteels is best known as a painter of equestrian battle scenes, but his output was certainly more diverse, as is also confirmed by contemporary written sources, such as Antwerp collection inventories. He usually painted on large canvases and depicted historical and mythological scenes, especially bacchanalia and sea triumphs. His works have at times been confused with those of other Flemish painters of his time, such as Jan Cossiers, Simon de Vos and Cornelis de Vos.

The present painting depicts an episode taken from the Book of King: The Queen of Sheba before King Salomon. The story of the Queen of Sheba focuses on her travels to Jerusalem. She is said to have arrived there with a camel bearing gifts for King Solomon: ‘with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones’ (Kings 10: 2). In the present painting, this wealth of gifts brought by the Queen is depicted with great virtuosity by Pauwels Casteels.