Esther before Ahasuerus
Artemisia Gentileschi's "Esther before Ahasuerus" painting is said to have been created to make the King look like a fool.¹ Gentileschi made him look like a court jester rather than a mighty king, whereas, Esther is painted to look like a valiant, beautiful queen.¹ Gentileschi’s interpretation could have been affected by numerous variables. Those variables include her past experiences and the historical period of when she painted “Esther before Ahasuerus”.
Her past experiences had a role in how she interpreted this biblical story. Her father was a painter, and she learned to be an artist from him and one of her father’s friends.² The friend of Gentileschi’s father was also a painter, but, more importantly, a fool like Gentileschi’s interpretation of the King. The man raped Gentileschi and after that horrific experience, she became a painter of biblical, protagonist women.² I believe she painted women as brave and heroic because she was already a woman painter, which was not common in the 17th century and made her feel superior to men and the other women, but also because she had a traumatizing experience with a man. That traumatizing experience leads me to believe that Gentileschi did not hold men in any esteem, which explains the unusual depiction of Esther and the King.
Although her past made a significant impact on her interpretation, there are other factors that could have altered her thinking. The historical context of when Gentileschi painted “Esther before Ahasuerus” is a real factor because the expectations of society, culture, religion, and events going on have an effect on individuals. According to Patrizia Cavazzini, “…original compositions, endless replicas of famous pictures, and miraculous images” became popular early on in the seventeenth century.4 That means Gentileschi could have been influenced to choose Esther’s story because the demand in Rome was high for miraculous and original compositions and Gentileschi wanted to make suer she could compete with the other artists.
Along with that factor, the "Baroque period was stylistically complex, even contradictory, however, the desire to evoke emotional states by appealing to the senses, often in dramatic ways, underlies its manifestations”.³ The period in which Gentileschi painted “Esther before Ahasuerus” influenced her depiction of Esther being superior to the King because she had to catch the attention of those around her. She needed to prove herself as a painter, so she chose a story with a female lead to evoke emotions.
Finally, the factor that makes a tremendous impact on Gentileschi’s depiction of her painting is her choice in an interpretation of the Bible. She used the Greek version instead of the Hebrew version.¹ In Rome, after the Council of Trent gave the Greek version “canonical status”, Gentileschi was one of many to choose the longer Greek text.¹ There are differences in versions of the Bible, but in this case, the Greek text added more description, and Gentileschi picked up on those additions. If she were to have used a different text, she might not have added parts into her painting that are there now.
Overall, Gentileschi was influenced by many factors. There was her past with men and how she was the first famous female painter in the post-Renaissance Rome. Also, her use of the Greek Bible, the demand and trends of what Roman society wanted, and the Baroque theme caused her to paint Esther’s story different than other painters.
