In this, one of her most ambitious portraits, vincenzo i gonzaga and his wife eleonora de’ medici are depicted in the guise of king solomon and the queen of sheba. This old testament story was chosen because the gonzaga family of mantua claimed ancient connections with the queen of sheba. This painting was apparently inspired by an actual event that occurred in 1600, when the dukes of mantua passed through bologna on their way to attend the wedding of their relative maria de’ medici who was marrying henry iv of france. Object Type: painting. Genre: religious art. Date: circa 1600. Dimensions: height: 251.7 cm (99 in) ; width: 326.5 cm (10.7 ft). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: National Gallery of Ireland. Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon by L. Fontana (c. 1600, NGI)
Loading...
