Judgement of Solomon (1509-1511)

Judgement of Solomon (1509-1511)
Raphael 1483 – 1520
fresco (120 × 105 cm) — 1509-1511

1 Kings 3:25 - And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

Two women claim to be the mother of one child. When Solomon decides that the child is to be cut in half, one woman relinquishes her claims, thus disclosing her identity as the true mother.

To this day, a judgment of Solomon is synonymous with a wise decision in a difficult dispute.

Raphael painted this fresco in the same room of the Vatican palace where he made the famous School of Athens: the Stanza della Segnatura. While Raphael was painting his frescoes, Michelangelo was hard at work in the nearby Sistine Chapel. Both artists had been hired by pope Julius II, an important patron of the arts.
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