The painting depicts the departure of the Queen of Sheba to meet King Solomon in Jerusalem, an event described in the tenth chapter of the First Book of Kings. The Queen heard of the great wisdom of Solomon and journeyed there from her land (the location of which is no longer certain) with gifts of spices, gold, precious stones, and beautiful wood; she planned to test him with difficult questions. This large (150 cm x 193 cm) canvas was commissioned together with the artist's "Landscape with the Marriage of Isaac and Rebecca" by Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, the general of the Papal army.
The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba
oil on canvas • 149.1 x 196.7 cm
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Claude Lorrain