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Your galleryEsther, Ahasuerus, and Haman
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Look from the king’s raised hand to Haman clutching his head, then find the toppled glass on the floor and the lemon peel curling over the plate.
Haman, the king’s chief minister, has plotted to wipe out the Jews of the kingdom, and Queen Esther, herself Jewish, persuades King Ahasuerus to withdraw the order. The king rises in anger, and Haman sinks into his chair, knowing he is finished. The Cleveland Museum of Art points out a Dutch still life among the dishes: a partly peeled lemon, blue-and-white porcelain and a roemer glass.
oil on canvas · Framed: 96.5 x 119.5 x 11 cm · Cleveland Museum of Art · Dutch Golden Age
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Details and source
- Museum title
- Esther, Ahasuerus, and Haman
- Artist
- Jan Steen (Dutch, 1626–1679)
- Date
- c. 1668
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 96.5 x 119.5 x 11 cm (38 x 47 1/16 x 4 5/16 in.); Unframed: 70 x 93 cm (27 9/16 x 36 5/8 in.)
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Image license
- CC0 1.0 · Public domain
- Museum record
- Cleveland Museum of Art
Artist’s life 1626–1679
View in the AtlasGaller’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.