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In 1713-17, Paolo de Matteis was entrusted with the dome fresco in the Neapolitan Jesuit church Gesù Nuovo. In 1776, however, the already dilapidated dome was demolished and De Matteis' fresco cycle was lost.
The painting "Triumph and Glory of Maria Immaculata" in the Museo Duca di Martina in Naples (inv. no. 84373) is considered to be a first partial draft by the artist for the dome decoration.
In another bozzetto by De Matteis in the Berlin Gemäldegalerie (inv. no. 1/69), the heavenly event of Mary's reception in the lower zone is juxtaposed with the earthly encounter of the Sabaean queen with Solomon. The Berlin depiction can be regarded as the final version submitted for the work on the dome, which was preceded by several preliminary studies (cf. Nicola Spinosa, Pittura napoletana del Settecento. dal Barocco al Rococò, Naples 1999, p. 136, no. 135; Winfried Baer, Ein Bozzetto des Paolo de Matteis für die Kuppel der Jesuitenkirche Gesù Nuovo in Neapel, in: Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen, vol. 14, Berlin 1972, p. 194).
Regarding the treatment of the Old Testament pictorial theme, slight deviations from the Berlin version can be seen in the present work. Due to the bright colours, warmer lighting and dramatic rendering of the figures in the painting offered here, there is closer affinity with the Naples sketch. Even though the physiognomies of the main protagonists are similar, the emotional content of the subject matter is reduced in the Berlin painting. Our painting still dispenses with some accompanying figures, but focuses on the gestures and facial expressions of the protagonists all the more. The stage-like palace scene with splendid draperies and costumes is already prepared here. It therefore stands to reason that the present painting "Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" was also produced as an early preparatory study for the dome fresco.