Esther and Mordecai (detail)

Esther and Mordecai, is one of de Gelder\u27s most valuable and characteristic works. The Old Testament book of Esther is summarized here into a single dramatic moment, the internal tension being conveyed through the structure of the composition and through the gestures. The painting depicts the scene of the Biblical story when Mordecai, foster-father of Esther persuades the Queen to induce her husband to save the Jewish people. De Gelder painted several versions of this subject differing in various degrees; the version now in the Providence Museum of Art, Rhode Island, also depicting half-length figures, is particularly close to the painting in Budapest.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/saskia/3463/thumbnail.jp