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confirming their canonical status was passed in April 1546, around the time this painting is thought to have been made, which may have a bearing on the choice of subject. The painting shows the moment from
Chapter 9:6–8, when Esther goes to see her husband, King Ahasuerus of Persia (often identified
338:
At some point after this a restorer removed the boy in armour, probably damaging the turbaned man. The figures revealed were perhaps thought unsatisfactory, so either this or another restorer re-added the boy in armour, though the new figure was "clearly of inferior quality". This stage can be seen
322:
The composition has seen a number of changes, the earliest by
Tintoretto himself, to the figures behind the king. What appears now probably represents Tintoretto's initial intention, but in the course of painting he abandoned the two figures standing behind the king, a tall twisting one with a long
331:, and a print made in 1712 after the Royal Collection painting. The Escorial version also extends the composition to both sides, and very slightly at the top and bottom, adding one and a half figures at the right, and showing the full leg and foot of the boy with a dog at left.
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It appears that at this stage the group of rather distant background figures to the right of the king were added; these appear to be Haman and his companion, with similar scarf and turban to their overpainted figures, standing with soldiers carrying banners.
339:
in old photographs. In 1950 a proposal by the restorer
Sebastian Isepp to remove the new boy in armour was agreed, leaving the figures as they now appear. Haman is therefore depicted twice in the painting as it now appears.
156:
The degree of finish varies considerably between different parts of the painting, which, with the intense colours and dramatic contrasts in lighting, is characteristic of
Venetian painting. The orange-yellow pigment
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6 Then having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king, who sat upon his royal throne, and was clothed with all his robes of majesty, all glittering with gold and precious stones; and he was very
292:; among other reasons, because both acted as intercessors, and because Esther being allowed an exception to the strict Persian law on uninvited entry to the king's presence was seen as paralleling the unique
248:
7 Then lifting up his countenance that shone with majesty, he looked very fiercely upon her: and the queen fell down, and was pale, and fainted, and bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before
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164:
The painting is dated, largely on stylistic grounds, to about 1546–47, relatively early in
Tintoretto's career, when he was still in his late twenties. It comes shortly before his first major commission,
251:
8 Then God changed the spirit of the king into mildness, who in a fear leaped from his throne, and took her in his arms, till she came to herself again, and comforted her with loving words....
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The painting's original owner is unknown. It would probably have been made for a secular setting, despite the religious subject. It is recorded in the inventory of the collection of
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327:, and what is now a very dim outline of a turbaned companion. Instead Tintoretto overpainted these with a boy in armour. This stage can be seen in a workshop copy in
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of Persia. In oil on canvas, it measures 207.7 by 275.5 centimetres (81.8 in × 108.5 in). Since the 1620s it has been in the
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in the robe of the king has altered; it would originally have matched the biblical description of his splendid gold robe.
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Esther's faint had not often been depicted in art before
Tintoretto, although for example it is shown in the series of
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of Mary. Contemporary viewers would probably have recognised a similarity between the faint and the motif of the
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373:. On his execution it was valued at £120 and sold, before being reacquired by the royal family on the
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Baskins, Cristelle L., "Typology, sexuality and the
Renaissance Esther", Chapter 2 in
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207.7 cm × 275.5 cm (81.8 in × 108.5 in)
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The account of the episode including Esther's fainting comes only from the
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Sexuality and Gender in Early Modern Europe: Institutions, Texts, Images
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of the United
Kingdom, and in 2019 it hung in the King's Gallery in
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The Art of Italy in the Royal
Collection; Renaissance and Baroque
284:, from the 1470s. Esther was regarded in Catholic theology as a
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placed at the end of the book. The decree at the
Catholic
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faints during a bold intervention with her husband King
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Paintings in the Royal Collection of the United Kingdom
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A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament
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is a large painting of 1546–47 by the Venetian painter
548:, Ed. James Turner, 1993, Cambridge University Press,
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133:showing a scene from the Greek addition to the
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300:, which was very common in depictions of the
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211:; in the latter the additions made in the
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572:, Royal Collection Publications, 2007,
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1024:Saint Mark series (1548 or 1562–1566)
813:Portrait of Queen Christina of Denmark
714:Portrait of Procurator Jacopo Soranzo
235:Another treatment by Tintoretto (now
7:
1043:Saint Mark's Body Brought to Venice
875:Saint Mark's Body Brought to Venice
260:Tintoretto self-portrait, c. 1548,
789:Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan
653:Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet
191:, or "Rest of Esther", which are
14:
1036:Finding of the Body of Saint Mark
867:Finding of the Body of Saint Mark
402:Whitaker and Clayton, 224–226; RC
349:Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
199:by Protestant churches. In the
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883:Portrait of Doge Pietro Loredan
568:Lucy Whitaker, Martin Clayton,
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522:Whitaker and Clayton, 224; RC
513:Whitaker and Clayton, 224; RC
504:Whitaker and Clayton, 224; RC
351:in 1627 as hanging alongside
168:Saint Mark Rescuing the Slave
16:Painting by Jacopo Tintoretto
960:The Vision of Saint Nicholas
913:Christ at the Sea of Galilee
262:Victoria & Albert Museum
207:there is no fainting in the
1073:Marietta Robusti (daughter)
921:The Origin of the Milky Way
821:Saint George and the Dragon
365:. It was acquired from the
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1078:Scuola Grande di San Rocco
929:Bacchus, Venus and Ariadne
844:Portrait of Alvise Cornaro
829:The Deliverance of Arsinoe
797:Presentation at the Temple
759:Presentation of the Virgin
744:Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
420:The Anglican title in the
318:Changes to the composition
1068:Domenico Tintoretto (son)
484:Whitaker and Clayton, 224
411:Whitaker and Clayton, 224
323:scarf who was presumably
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729:Assumption of the Virgin
464:, Ignatius Press, 2018,
1119:Paintings by Tintoretto
645:Esther Before Ahasuerus
424:and Authorized Version.
307:Esther Before Ahasuerus
126:Esther Before Ahasuerus
24:Esther Before Ahasuerus
1086:(studio of Tintoretto)
805:Susanna and the Elders
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193:Deuterocanonical books
1084:Judith and Holofernes
1051:Fasti of the Gonzagas
564:Royal Collection page
312:Artemisia Gentileschi
294:Immaculate Conception
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215:are relegated to the
1029:Miracle of the Slave
422:Thirty-Nine Articles
357:in a passage in the
302:Crucifixion of Jesus
1134:Paintings of Esther
1097:formerly attributed
298:Swoon of the Virgin
629:The Siege of Asola
434:Authorized Version
367:Gonzaga collection
288:forerunner of the
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224:as the historical
197:Biblical apocrypha
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774:Leda and the Swan
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1093: 1577
1053:(1578–1580)
1010:(1592–1594)
1007:Last Supper
1000: 1588
975:Il Paradiso
968: 1582
953: 1580
932:(1576–1577)
924:(1575–1580)
906: 1570
891: 1567
878:(1562–1566)
870:(1562–1566)
859:Crucifixion
852: 1560
837: 1560
816:(1555–1556)
808:(1555–1556)
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767: 1551
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677: 1550
661: 1548
648:(1546–1547)
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632:(1544–1545)
375:Restoration
329:El Escorial
290:Virgin Mary
286:typological
153:, London.
106:RCIN 407247
1113:Categories
991:Visitation
668:Visitation
614:Tintoretto
554:0521446058
539:References
470:1642290483
343:Provenance
213:Septuagint
175:, Venice.
131:Tintoretto
71:Dimensions
42:Tintoretto
937:The Muses
670:(Bologna)
621:Paintings
371:Charles I
354:The Muses
246:dreadful.
239:), 1550s.
173:Accademia
143:Ahasuerus
103:Accession
993:(Venice)
159:orpiment
79:Location
1061:Related
916:(1570s)
271:cassone
187:to the
111:Website
55:1546–47
53: (
51:1546–47
986:(1588)
978:(1588)
940:(1578)
893:–1570)
862:(1565)
854:–1565)
784:–1560)
769:–1556)
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562:"RC":
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363:Mantua
139:Esther
87:London
63:Medium
38:Artist
898:Danaë
494:image
381:Notes
325:Haman
237:Prado
93:Owner
574:ISBN
550:ISBN
466:ISBN
446:here
249:her.
203:and
48:Year
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