Esther before Ahasuerus (Artemisia Gentileschi)

Esther before Ahasuerus
Year c. 1628–1635
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions 208.3 cm (82.0 in) × 273.7 cm (107.8 in)
Identifiers The Met object ID: 436453

Esther before Ahasuerus is a c. 1628–1635 painting by the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi that portrays the biblical heroine Esther going before Ahasuerus to beg him to spare her people. It hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. It is one of her later and lesser known works, but Gentileschi's use of lighting, details, and style help her to represent Esther as a biblical heroine as well as the main protagonist of the work.

Background on the Artist

Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the only women in the Baroque period who was given the training and ability to become a skilled painter, and became one of the most prominent painters of this era because of this. Artemisia was the eldest child of artist Orazio Gentileschi and was trained in her father’s workshop along with her brothers, showing more talent than any of them.[1] She was trained in the style of Caravaggio, as her father’s style took inspiration from his.[2] Artemisia’s works tend to reflect that training and as such are similar in style to Caravaggio’s, but with less focus on dramatic setting and lighting seen in his works and more focus on the people involved and their characterizations. Her paintings are also less idealistic in portraying people and more naturalistic and even a bit mischievous, which can be seen in Esther before Ahasuerus where Esther is painted to look more like a normal woman rather than an idealized one, while Ahasuerus is made to look more comedic than a king would normally be depicted.

Subject

The scene in the painting is from the Book of Esther and depicts Esther, the wife of the king Ahasuerus (sometimes named as Xerxes in modern text). After the king ordered an execution of all the Jewish people in the Persian Empire, Esther went before him without being summoned to beg for him to spare her people. This action broke court etiquette and she risked death in doing so, and she ended up fainting before the king, which is depicted in Gentileschi’s work.[3] This action ended up softening the king’s decision, and he permitted the Jews to defend themselves against his attack, preventing them from being killed off.

Formal Elements

Composition

While the subject matter depicted in this work is the biblical scene of Esther going before Ahasuerus to plead for her people, the style of the clothing and setting is more contemporary. The significance of the way Gentileschi depicts both Esther and the king speaks to her style and ideals. Esther is shown in better lighting, while Ahasuerus is in shadow, and the king is also depicted in comedic clothing, with an extravagant feathered hat and fur-trimmed boots that are also bejeweled. Esther, meanwhile, is depicted in more elegant and refined clothing. Gentileschi marks her as the protagonist of the scene in this way and gives her more agency while conveying the message of how much of a biblical heroine Esther is.

The colors in this piece are generally more muted and not very vibrant. Shades of red run throughout much of the background, darkened by brown to come off as shadows. The king Ahasuerus also has red in his outfit in the sash that he wears over his neck. Because of this, Esther’s vibrantly yellow dress stands out in comparison to the rest of the painting, bringing attention to her figure. She is also more well-lit than the king, who is almost in shadow. His color palette is also different from the background with an outfit of white and dark green, but unlike Esther, he does not stand out as much due to the fact that he is in darker colors.

The usage of angles in this piece also speaks to how staged it is and represents the style of the Baroque era. Both Esther and the king are in almost parallel diagonal angles. Ahasuerus leans forward in his chair as Esther faints backwards, being caught by the women behind her. The diagonal angles in the curtains in front of and behind the king also give the effect of drawing the eye towards him as if to remind the viewer to pay attention to him, too, instead of just focusing on Esther. There is also a lot of direct contrast in how they are both posed. Esther is falling backwards, her chin receding into her neck, while Ahasuerus is leaning forward and looks like he is about to stand up, his chin jutting out towards her. This is a very dynamic scene with a lot of movement from both Esther and the king.

In addition, Gentileschi paid a lot of attention to the folds of the fabrics as well as in Ahasuerus’s boots, and she even made the stitches on the hem of Esther’s dress so exact that they almost look real. Gentileschi’s attention to detail is also visible in the cracks of the marble ground as well as the fur trim on Ahasuerus’s boots, and even in the detailing of the paws that adorn the king’s chair. The materials in this painting feel almost real and tangible, which helps to make the scene even more relatable to viewers.

Comparisons

Artemisia Gentileschi’s paintings are often filled with images of women committing acts of violence against men, especially in her most well known painting, Judith Slaying Holofernes. As one of the only prominent women in the Baroque era, Gentileschi’s work is very well known. Her consistent motifs of women having power over men and even killing them is possibly a revenge narrative linked to the fact that Gentileschi was raped by her father’s friend Agostino Tassi when she was just a teen.[4] Her works also tend to have themes of men objectifying women, as seen in Susanna and the Elders. Esther before Ahasuerus is an example of a work that conveys both of these themes.

Iconography

Gentileschi’s rendition of this scene from the Book of Esther seems to follow the description seen in the Greek additions to the original account, which was declared canonical during the Council of Trent in 1546. One distinct difference between Gentileschi’s work and the text is in how Ahasuerus is portrayed. The text states that he was “dressed in all his robes of state...a formidable sight.”[5] In contrast, Gentileschi’s depiction of the king is anything but formidable. His clothing resembles that of a court jester more than a king, and he is even leaning forward in a comedic manner with a puzzled expression on his face as Esther faints. This does not seem to be the face of a king who has the power to order the execution of an entire race, and that may be part of Gentileschi’s intent as far as his portrayal goes; the people in charge may not always appear as powerful and scary as their position entails.

New Findings

Looking closely, one can see what looks like the shadow of a boy near the king's knee. X-rays done by the Metropolitan Museum of Art revealed that this was a figure of an African boy restraining a dog that was painted over intentionally, which is thought to be a reference to Veronese’s depiction of this same scene, which Gentileschi’s painting is similar to.[6] In Veronese’s Esther before Ahasuerus, however, the dog is resting by the king and not trying to attack Esther.

Notes

  1. ↑ Bissell, “Artemisia Gentileschi and the Authority of Art”, 135.
  2. ↑ Bissell, “Artemisia Gentileschi and the Authority of Art”, 135.
  3. ↑ "Artemisia Gentileschi | Esther before Ahasuerus | The Met," accessed November 9, 2017, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436453.
  4. ↑ Cohen, "The Trials of Artemisia Gentileschi: A Rape as History”
  5. ↑ "Artemisia Gentileschi | Esther before Ahasuerus | The Met," accessed November 9, 2017, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436453.
  6. ↑ "Artemisia Gentileschi | Esther before Ahasuerus | The Met," accessed November 9, 2017, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436453.

References

"Artemisia Gentileschi | Esther before Ahasuerus | The Met." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accessed November 9, 2017. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436453.

Bissell, R. Ward. Artemisia Gentileschi and the Authority of Art: Critical Reading and Catalogue Raisonné. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.

Cohen, Elizabeth S. "The Trials of Artemisia Gentileschi: A Rape as History." Sixteenth Century Journal 31, no. 1 (2000): 47-75. Accessed November 9, 2017.

Further reading

  • Voss, Hermann (1977-01-01). Die malerei des Barock in Rom (in German). Berlin: Propyläen.
  • Bissell, R. Ward (1968-01-01). "Artemisia Gentileschi-A New Documented Chronology". The Art Bulletin. 50 (2): 153–168. doi:10.2307/3048529. JSTOR 3048529.
  • Kaufmann, Thomas DaCosta (1970-01-01). "Esther before Ahasuerus: A New Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi in the Museum's Collection". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. 29 (4): 165–169. doi:10.2307/3258546. JSTOR 3258546.
  • Greer, Germaine (2001-01-01). The obstacle race: the fortunes of women painters and their work. London: Tauris Parke. ISBN 1860646778.
  • Garrard, Mary D. (1980-01-01). "Artemisia Gentileschi's Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting". The Art Bulletin. 62 (1): 97–112. doi:10.2307/3049963. JSTOR 3049963.
  • Spike, John T. (1991-01-01). "Artemisia Gentileschi. Florence, Casa Buonarroti". The Burlington Magazine. 133 (1063): 732–734. JSTOR 884954.
  • Bionda, Claire-Lise (1992), "Artemisia Gentileschi", L'Oeil, vol. 442, 20-29
  • Bissell, R. Ward (1999-01-01). Artemisia Gentileschi and the authority of art: critical reading and catalogue raisonné. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0271017872.
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