The Judgment of Solomon

Poussin painted The Judgment of Solomon around 1649, depicting the celebrated biblical episode in which Solomon, presented with two women each claiming the same infant, reveals the true mother through his threat to divide the child in two. The subject was ideal for Poussin's mature classical style: a moment of supreme moral and legal intelligence rendered through the physical drama of the threatened infant and the contrasting reactions of the two mothers. The composition is organized with his characteristic architectural clarity — Solomon enthroned, the competing figures arrayed around him in a frieze-like progression of contrasting gestures — and the psychological content is rendered through pose and gesture rather than facial expression, in the manner of ancient relief sculpture.

The architectural setting and toga-clad figures reflect Poussin's thorough study of ancient Roman art, while the precise gestures and expressions convey each character's emotional response to Solomon's decree.