The Judgment of Solomon and Esther before Ahasuerus (pair) (c. 1530): Art, History and Details

The Judgment of Solomon and Esther before Ahasuerus (pair) (c. 1530) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Dirk Vellert (Netherlandish, 1480/85–1547).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Though also a painter and printmaker, Dierick (or Dirk) Vellert is best known as a designer of stained glass. Active in Antwerp, where he became a master of the Guild of Saint Luke in 1511, Vellert richly ornamented his work with garlands, masks, vases, and other classically inspired motifs. A great deal of his glass was exported. As an engraver, his prints owe a good deal to Albrecht Dürer and Luca van Leyden. These two panels depict famous incidents from the Old Testament featuring the rendering of judgment. Both may have originally been made for a council chamber or a court of justice. Conceivably, because of their subjects, they could have served as models of justice for the magistrates who deliberated within view of them.

Object facts

• Title: The Judgment of Solomon and Esther before Ahasuerus (pair)
• Date: c. 1530
• Creator attribution: Dirk Vellert (Netherlandish, 1480/85–1547)
• Culture: Netherlands, South Lowlands, 16th century
• Type: Glass
• Technique: pot metal, white glass, and silver stain
• Dimensions: Overall: 69.3 x 46.4 cm (27 5/16 x 18 1/4 in.)
• Collection: MED - Renaissance
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1968.188

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Gibson, Walter S. “Two Painted Glass Panels from the Circle of Lucas van Leyden.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 57, no. 3 (March 1970): 81–92.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.