King David Receiving the Cistern Water of Bethlehem

<p>This scene and that of <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111670/king-solomon-receiving-the-queen-of-sheba"><em>King Solomon Receiving the Queen of Sheba</em></a> are particularly fine examples of the decorative style practiced in Antwerp by a group of largely anonymous artists now dubbed Antwerp Mannerists. The paintings originally formed the interior of the wings of a folding triptych with the <em>Adoration of the Magi</em> as its center. Both show gifts being presented to a ruler on his throne and would have been understood as Old Testament prefigurations of the submission of the nations to Christ as king, the theme of the lost <em>Adoration</em> panel. They also provided an excuse for the artist to depict exotic costumes, architecture, and luxury goods—the hallmarks of the Antwerp Mannerist style.</p>