Solomon's Idolatry

This engraving demonstrates the Netherlandish love of allusion. As Solomon's wife urges him to worship a pagan idol, her finger appears to touch the nose of a man in the crowd, perhaps a visual joke about her leading Solomon around by the nose. The pillar, a traditional symbol of spiritual fortitude, fails to block a young man's view of Solomon's folly. As for the idol, it is a lusty satyr with an unsteady perch on fickle Fortune's globe.