Arcadópolis
Esther before Ahasuerus
Artemisia Gentileschi, c. 1628–1635
What you see
The picture splits into two sides with a wide empty space between them. On the left, Esther, in a golden-yellow gown with a blue sash, sinks backward in a faint, held up by two attendants. On the right, King Ahasuerus, seated on a throne atop curved steps, leans forward as if about to rise. The eye travels across the tiled floor from one to the other.
Light from the left falls on Esther’s gown, with its broad folds, and on the king’s pale hose. Behind them are a dark wall, a pilaster and a red cord hung in swags. Look at the king’s outfit, with striped puffed sleeves, a lace ruff and a crown on a plumed hat, and at the throne’s golden claw feet.
About Artemisia Gentileschi
Artemisia Gentileschi learned to paint in Rome, in the studio of her father Orazio, a follower of Caravaggio, from whom she took the strong contrasts of light and shadow. In 1616 she became the first woman admitted to the Academy of the Arts of Drawing in Florence, and later worked in Venice, London and Naples for nobles and kings. She painted above all heroines from the Bible and history with uncommon force and resolve; after centuries of neglect, she is today one of the most admired painters of the Baroque.
More by Artemisia Gentileschi
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