Welcome to the gallery of different images of Queen Esther, Mordechai, Achashverosh and Amman.
Every artistic and religious tradition has its own point of view over the Purim story, the role of each participant and the general meaning of it.
This time we see how Purim events are reflected in Italian, French, and of course Dutch art.
We discuss the image and the role of Queen Esther and the way she became a symbol of Independence in Netherlands.
- Beauty and modesty, strength and weakness, intelligence and naivety – these are some other versions of Queen Esther image. You will see full variety of options - from the young innocent girl to the mature decisive and strong lady.
- Youth and maturity, attention and anger, strength and elegance – it is all about Achashverosh.
- Tears and triumph, hope and wisdom, beauty and prudence - this is how different the image of Mordechai can be.
- Fear and despair, villainy and misery, betrayal and madness - it's about Amman.
I show you some of the traditional and some of the scandalous paintings.
We visit some of the most famous museums - the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Pushkin Art Museum in Moscow, Louvre in Paris, Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and many others.