The Queen of Sheba in front of King Solomon

Konrad Witz's Queen of Sheba before King Solomon, painted around 1435 for the Gemaldegalerie Berlin, depicts the Old Testament encounter that was read as a typological prefiguration of the Adoration of the Magi. Witz's treatment gives the biblical narrative a physical immediacy characteristic of his revolutionary approach. This work belongs to the Early Renaissance, the transformative period in European art when painters first applied mathematical perspective, naturalistic figure modeling, and archaeological interest in antiquity to the inherited traditions of medieval devotional painting. The tension between Gothic grace and Renaissance structure gives art of this period a distinctive energy.

The court scene features Witz's powerfully modeled figures set within an architectural space of convincing depth, with the rich costumes and material textures rendered with his characteristic precision and volumetric weight.