Beautiful Esther: masterpieces for a queen

Abstract

"The story of Queen Esther has aroused a strong interest over the centuries, not only among Jewish communities: it is the tale of a woman who saved her people, like other biblical heroines, but stands out due to certain characteristics such as the secrecy, dissimulation, and hidden identity - all concepts and interpretations that disclose several reading keys. The figure of Esther has been the protagonist of novels, plays, musical compositions, and, above all, pictorial works since late antiquity. This fascination continued in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. For the first time, some of the most beautiful Megillot Estèr preserved in Italy, with their magnificent miniatures, are justaposed with well-known Renaissance artworks. This is a unique opportunity to understand how the biblical story was seen inside and outside the Jewish context and how its related iconographic models became widely spread, eventually turning into canons of contemporary imagination through cinematic interpretations. Exhibition: Museo Ebraico, Rome, Italy (20.03 - 24.06.2024)."-- From back cover