Le Couronnement d'Esther par Assuérus

Jacopo da Sellaio painted this Coronation of Esther by Ahasuerus around 1487 for a Florentine domestic setting. The Old Testament story of Esther's elevation to queen was popular for marriage furnishings as it exemplified the virtue and beauty that secured a woman's favorable destiny. Sellaio's narrative skills were perfectly suited to such decorative biblical panels. This work belongs to the Early Renaissance, the transformative period in European art when painters first applied mathematical perspective, naturalistic figure modeling, and archaeological interest in antiquity to the inherited traditions of medieval devotional painting.

Tempera on panel with palatial architectural setting and richly costumed figures. Sellaio's narrative approach brings lively characterization to the coronation ceremony.