The Idolatry of Solomon

The Idolatry of Solomon — Pietro da Cortona. 1622–23.

Medium: Pen and brown ink, point of brush and black ink, brush and brown wash, and white and blue gouache, framing lines in brown ink. Dimensions: Sheet: 24.8 x 43.3 cm (9 3/4 x 17 1/16 in.); Secondary Support: 25.5 x 44.1 cm (10 1/16 x 17 3/8 in.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

Pietro da Cortona was one of the most successful and active fresco painters in Rome in the mid-1600s. This drawing is a preparatory sheet—highly worked-up with many different mediums—for one of the artist's six frescoes portraying the story of Solomon commissioned by the Roman nobleman Asdrubale Mattei (1556-1638) for the gallery of his Palazzo Mattei di Giove. Reflecting the artist's as well as his patron's interest in classical antiquity, Cortona combined a classical relief-like composition with specific references to Roman objects and architectural elements in the composition. The subject represents a foolish episode from Solomon's life, when he was lured into the worship of idols by the "foreign" women with whom he kept company.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.