The Prophetess Deborah

On 24 September 1725 the court in Turin settled the last bill. It paid Solimena the 700 Neapolitan ducats agreed for the final picture of the series, the prophetess Deborah who, in the words of the record, gave the laws to the people of Israel, and it added 100 ducats more as a gift. The canvas had arrived shortly before. The pictures had come from Naples in separate shipments over five years, and the king had written more than once to hurry the painter along.

In the Book of Judges, Deborah is a prophet and the judge of Israel. She summons the commander Barak and tells him to raise an army against Sisera, whose forces have oppressed the Israelites for 20 years. Here she stands in white and blue among her maids, soldiers and elders, with a commanding gesture toward Barak, who is already dressed for battle. At the lower right a man gathers up weapons and armour, two dogs lie on the steps, and angels fly in the clouds above.

The art historian Nicola Spinosa has noted that the Turin canvas is a variant of a Deborah that belonged to Count Harrach, who governed Naples for the emperor from 1728 to 1732.