HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER (1497/8-1543)
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
c.1534RCIN 912188
This lavish work shows King Solomon receiving the Queen of Sheba, who had come to see for herself whether Solomon was as wise a king as she had heard. The figure of Solomon is clearly modelled on Henry VIII, for whom this work may have been painted as a flattering gift. The technique is very similar to that of Holbein’s portrait miniatures.