Neapolitan school; end of the XVII century.

Neapolitan school; late 17th century.
"David showing Solomon the plans of the Temple".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 58 x 83 cm; 70 x 94 cm (frame).
This work follows the model established by the artist Luca Giordano. The work represents with great theatricality and dynamism an episode of the Old Testament loaded with religious and political symbolism. In this scene, King David, now an old man and dressed in sumptuous royal robes, hands over to his son Solomon the plans for the Temple of Jerusalem, the great sanctuary that he himself was unable to build by divine command, but which he bequeathed as a sacred mission to his heir. The painting captures the moment of the transmission not only of an architectural project, but also of a theological vision, of a lineage and of an idea of royalty consecrated by God.
The artist composes the scene in a characteristically exuberant style, full of movement, golden lights and warm colors. The atmosphere is solemn but lively, charged with an energy that emanates both from the expansive gesture of David, who points to the planes, and from the reverent and youthful attention of Solomon, symbol of the future and of divine continuity. Around him, courtly figures, priests or architects attend the scene as witnesses of a historical and spiritual revelation. The architecture suggested in the background, probably alluding to the future Temple, contributes to the idea that this scene is a point of union between the earthly and the eternal.