Manner of Frans Francken the Elder, Flemish, mid-18th century- Ester...

Manner of Frans Francken the Elder,
Flemish, mid-18th century-

Ester before Ahasuerus;

oil on panel, cradled, 70.5 x 52 cm.

Provenance:
Private Collection, UK.

Note:
The subject of ‘Ester before Ahasuerus’ was narrated by the Bible’s Book of Ester (V: 2-34). Here, the Persian King Ahasuerus is shown seated on his throne. The painting was likely reduced at some stage, and there probably would have been a scene of his wife Ester kneeling before him to the left of the existing composition. The biblical story narrates that Ester had discovered the intentions of General Aman to kill the Jews, and, having initially concealed her Jewish origins, revealed them in an act of courage and implored her husband to spare the lives of her people. Ahasuerus accepted her request and sentenced Amman to death.

Seated on a harpy-decorated throne with a baldachin towering above, Ahasuerus is dressed with a turban and crown atop his head. He holds a sceptre and is surrounded by his military generals and counsellors. Several compositional details - including the harpies decorating the throne, Ahasuerus’s leopard-skin robe, the red baldachin, and the elevated position of the king surrounded by his counsellors - appear to derive from Frans Franken the Elder’s painting of the subject, held at the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro [1878 T].