The feast of Esther and Ahasuerus - Frans Francken II (1581 - 1642)

Oil on panel
Signed lower left: “D°ffranck in. f.”


THE ARTWORK

This painting depicts a scene from the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. This is the moment that Esther reveals to Ahasuerus that she is a Jew and therefore distances herself from the tribe of Benjamin and thus denounces the machinations of the vizier Aman. In The 17th century, Esther was considered both a Jewish heroin and an important symbol in the Netherlands. She was a young Jewish woman who risked her life to save the Jewish people from destruction. The Jewish holiday of Purim is a celebration of Esther's courage.
In the scene we see a banquet table with Esther, Ahasuerus and Aman. We see Aman going on the defensive. So Esther has told the betrayal correctly. Ahasuerus, one of the three leaders of Persie, looks surprised. You can see the shock in his eyes. The bystanders appear to be talking to each other. Francken painted this scene again. The composition is very similar. However, there are some differences, such as the background and the choice of clothing. The scene takes place exactly on the veranda in the garden of a palace: trees in the distance are present.



THE ARTIST

Frans Francken II was a Flemish baroque painter and the best known and most prolific member of the large Francken family of artists. His father, Frans Francken the Elder, was a student of Frans Floris. Together with his brother, Hieronymus Francken II, he trained him as a painter. He later trained in Paris under his uncle Hieronymus Francken I. In 1581 he was born in Antwerp and died here on May 6, 1642. His oeuvre mainly consists of large altarpieces for churches, smaller historical, mythological and allegorical scenes. Francken was a versatile artist who practiced in many genres and introduced new subjects into Flemish art. Together with Jan Brueghel the Elder, he was one of the first artists to make paintings of art rooms in the 1620s. The genre immediately became popular and quickly gained a following.