"The Judgment of Solomon. To the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Prosecutor’s Office"

Justice, its symbols and attributes, personalities in Justice have inspired artists of all times and peoples over the past two and a half millennia. The gallery of artistic images that has developed during this time conveys the multifaceted, spiritually rich world of not only the Bible, but also the attitude of people from different eras, different models of human perception, the mysteries of his soul and the world around him.

From the depths of centuries, the image of King Solomon as a character in many legends and parables has come down to our days. In all legends, he acts as the wisest of people and a fair judge. We often hear the phrase "Solomon’s decision", which has become a catch phrase. According to biblical tradition, the Lord gave King Solomon great wisdom. One day two women came to him who had given birth to babies. One of the boys died, and each claimed that it was her child who was alive. Then Solomon ordered the living baby to be cut in half, so that each would get an equal share. The deceiver agreed, and the true mother renounced the rights to the child in order to save his life, and Solomon ordered the child to be given to her. In Christian theology, this plot became a prototype of the Last Judgment and began to be used as a symbol of justice in a broad sense.

The exhibition presents an engraving by Boethius Adams Bolswerth (1580 - 1633), based on Rubens’ painting "The Judgment of Solomon". The famous Dutch chisel master studied with Abraham and Cornelis Blumarth, engraved from paintings by Winkbons, Miereveldt, Abraham Blumarth. In 1611 - 1617 he worked in Haarlem, and in 1620 he moved to Antwerp. The Judgment of Solomon is one of the best works of B. A. Bolswerth.

The engraving depicts the young King Solomon on the throne, with a scepter in his hand. On both sides of the throne are elders and warriors. In front of Solomon are two women calling to him. The mother of the child begs the judges to keep her child alive.

Having risen to generalizations of a purely moral order, the artist comprehends what is most beautiful in truth. Repeating the words of the ancient Roman lawyer Ulpinian about Justice as the knowledge of divine and human affairs, we can add that, admiring Justice in art, we see in it an inexhaustible source of purification, we strive to create the art of Justice, Goodness and Justice.

The exhibition will run until April 11.