The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon has as its inspiration the biblical story of the queen’s visit to the Israelite King Solomon’s court. The purpose of the visit was to prove or test the legendary wisdom of the king through the queen’s posing of several riddles to him.
Englishman Edward Poynter’s scene is lavish and shows Solomon greeting the queen who ascends towards him. We are the privileged spectators of the setting yet at the same time are positioned on the lower level with the queen’s servants. He painted this in 1890 at age 54.
Edward Poynter’s The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon is in the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.