The Queen of Sheba

Sir Edward John Poynter, PRA RWS

1890

Oil on canvas

The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Detail from The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon

Like Hunt's The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple, this work depicts an outsider — Poynter's Queen of Sheba and Hunt's young Jesus — entering a lavishly rendered space within which that outsider confronts those in power and then reacts to that encounter: typically, Hunt, the rebel, has the young Jesus experience an epiphany in which he first recognizes his own power whereas the conservative Poynter has his outsider awed, even cowed, by the establishment. Each man ends up revealing a great deal about his stance toward society and those in power.

The painting appears here courtesy of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which retains copyright; it may not be reproduced without permisison of the museum.

Details

  • The painting with its original Frame
  • The painting (larger inage)
  • Capitals and the top of Solomon's throne