1525
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Judgment of Solomon is a 1525 ink by Georg Pencz, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows a crowded scene with a man holding a baby, surrounded by a group of people. Some are standing, some kneel, and one woman clutches a child while looking worried. The man in the center holds a sword, and the background has a building with arched windows. Everyone’s faces are serious, and the lines create deep shadows. The story here is about a king deciding who the real mother of a baby is. The artist used sharp lines and shading to make the scene feel dramatic. Next, check out how engraving works to see how artists like this create such detailed prints.
Georg Pencz (c. 1500 – 11 October 1550) was a German engraver, painter and printmaker. Pencz was probably born in Westheim near Bad Windsheim/Franconia. He travelled to Nuremberg in 1523 and joined Albrecht Dürer’s…
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