The central scene of this window is a reversed version of a 1564 engraving by Philip Galle after a painting by Dutch artist Maerten van Heemskerck. The scene depicts the banquet where the Persian queen Esther reveals her Jewish identity and saves the Jewish people from destruction. With animated gestures, she reveals to King Ahasuerus a plot by Haman, his chief adviser, to kill her and all other Jews in the kingdom. In the biblical Book of Esther, the king rushes to her defense, orders the execution of Haman, and spares the Jews. Visible in the distance are the gallows on which Haman, rather than Esther’s cousin Mordecai, is put to death.
Esther’s heroism held particular meaning for both Jewish and Christian communities in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. The Dutch Republic, a small Protestant nation, had only recently gained independence from the Catholic empire of Spain. The story of Esther mirrored their hard-won freedom and reflected a culture of religious tolerance. Dutch painters and printmakers also turned to the story of Esther for inspiration. While the original context for this window, part of a larger set, is unknown, the inclusion of individual names in the inscription below the image may have honored patrons who commissioned the windows (see also 45.21.53).
