The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt

The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt showcases how the biblical story of heroic Queen Esther, depicted by Rembrandt and his contemporaries in art and popular culture, expressed ideas of political and religious freedom during the Dutch Golden Age.

Read on the annual Jewish holiday of Purim, the Book of Esther recounts the struggle and triumph of the Jewish people in exile under the Persian empire of Ahasuerus. Esther, who hides her Jewish identity as the new wife of the Persian king, speaks up against the king’s chief adviser, saving the Jews from annihilation. Popular representations of Esther’s story in 17th-century Dutch paintings, prints, drawings, and decorative arts came to embody the Netherland’s religious and political independence in the face of oppressive Spanish rule. Netherlanders, including Rembrandt and his contemporaries, embraced Esther as a personification of their emerging nation’s identity, crafting her into a new heroine for a new century. Charting this history through objects and artworks, The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt provides an original perspective on one of the most studied periods of Dutch prosperity.