Head of King Solomon (recto); Classical Head (verso)

Head of King Solomon (recto); Classical Head (verso)

Benjamin Robert Haydon

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ambitious to prove himself as a history painter, Haydon painted a large "Judgment of Solomon" between 1812-14. This is one of a pair of drawings where he developed the key figure of the king, a subject he discussed in his journal on April 8, 1812: "I wish to express Solomon a fine youthful king of Israel...cllothed in gold, with a sceptre and a crimson robe, his face youthful--dignity commingled with wisdom." The mature, dark-haired figure who appears here was an early conception, replaced later with a younger, more classical looking king. Haydon worked from models and studied Raphael's Cartoons to establish the composition that he exhibited at the Oil and Water Colour Society, Spring Gardens in 1814 (now Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery, UK).

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Head of King Solomon (recto); Classical Head (verso)Head of King Solomon (recto); Classical Head (verso)Head of King Solomon (recto); Classical Head (verso)Head of King Solomon (recto); Classical Head (verso)Head of King Solomon (recto); Classical Head (verso)

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.