Life of Esther

Life of Esther or Scenes from the Story of Esther is the title of a series of six panel paintings by the Italian Renaissance painters Sandro Botticelli and Filippino Lippi, showing scenes from the story of Esther and produced in the 1470s. They originally decorated the sides of a pair of cassoni or marriage chests, the two long panels on the fronts, and the smaller ones on the ends. They are now split between five museums in Europe and Canada.^[1]

The authorship of the panels has been much discussed, without firm conclusions being reached. Many accounts divide the works between the two artists, either in terms of the different paintings, or different stages of the work, or both. After his father's death in 1469, Filippino Lippi completed his apprenticeship with Botticelli, and in 1472 was recorded as his assistant. Whether the panel known as La Derelitta, probably by Botticelli, and perhaps rather later than the others, forms part of the series, has also puzzled scholars. The figure is often thought to be female, and a scene of Mordecai weeping is already shown in the Louvre's wide panel.^[2]

A recent (2010) study, based on infrared reflectography and x-ray images, shows differences between the style and techniques of the underdrawing, and also differences in the handling of the vanishing points in the perspective of the architecture. There may well have been more than two artists involved.^[3] The author concludes that La Derelitta and The Triumph of Mordecai are entirely by Botticelli, and Esther at the Palace Gate perhaps entirely by Lippi. The two wide front panels suggest a design by Botticelli, and some underdrawing, but are probably mostly by Lippi, assisted by another painter in the draperies. Vashti Rejected may be painted by a third, less expert, painter after a cartoon by Botticelli.^[4]

Collections

The division between the two cassoni is conjectural, based on the order of events in the biblical story, with the first one mostly covering Esther's part in the story, and the second that of Mordecai. Cassoni were typical wedding gifts, and this partial division into a female and male story would be appropriate for this. Theologians saw the relationship between Esther and Ashuerus as a prefiguration of that between Christ and his church.^[5]

First cassone

Esther's Arrival in Susa (Esther at the Palace Gate), 48,4 × 43,2 cm, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Inv.60856
Ahasuerus Chooses Esther, with the feasts of the king (left) and queen (right) in the background. 47 × 131 cm, musée Condé, Chantilly, PE 19, attributed by the museum to Lippi.^[6]
Vashti Rejected, 48,5 × 43,2, Museo Horne, Florence, inv.417

Second cassone

La Derelitta, possibly Mordecai Weeping, 47 × 43 cm, Palazzo Pallavicini Rospigliosi, Rome, inv.271
Three scenes from the story of Esther – Mordecai Lamenting ; Esther Faints Before Ahasuerus ; Haman Begs For Mercy In Vain, and Haman is hung in the background. 48 × 132 cm, musée du Louvre, Paris, inv.RF1972-138
The Triumph of Mordecai, 48,3 × 43,2 cm, National Gallery of Canada, inv.60869

Esther at the Palace Gate
Vashti Rejected
La Derelitta, possibly Mordecai Weeping

Provenance

The original patron and context of the paintings is unknown. The La Derelitta, possibly Mordecai Weeping is first recorded in 1816 in the collection of Prince Giuseppe Rospigliosi (as a work by Masaccio). The other panels were recorded in the 1850s in the Torrigiani collection, and published by Jacob Burckhardt, who attributed them to Lippi, using the designs, and perhaps the underdrawing, of Botticelli.^[5]

First cassone

Second cassone

Notes

^ Wind, writing when some of the owners were different.
^ Wind; Marcevicius, 31–32.
^ Marcevicius, 32–34.
^ Marcevicius, 33–35.
^ ^a ^b Marcevicius, 31–32.
^ Google Cultural Institute

References

Markevicius, Tomas, "The Triumph of Mordecai at The National Gallery of Canada: New Findings on Botticelli’s Role and Direct Involvement in Extraordinary Collaboration with Filippino Lippi in the c.1475 Cycle Depicting the Story of Ester", Conference: American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) 2010 Annual Meeting, Volume: Postprints, Researchgate.net PDF [accessed Jul 14 2018]
Wind, Edgar, "The Subject of Botticelli's ‘Derelitta.’", Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol. 4, no. 1/2, 1940, pp. 114–117, JSTOR

[1] Wind, writing when some of the owners were different.

[2] Wind; Marcevicius, 31–32.

[3] Marcevicius, 32–34.

[4] Marcevicius, 33–35.

[M12-5] Marcevicius, 31–32.

[6] Google Cultural Institute

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v t e Sandro Botticelli
List of works
Secular	Fortitude Primavera Pallas and the Centaur Venus and Mars The Birth of Venus Calumny of Apelles Illustrations to the Divine Comedy The Story of Nastagio Degli Onesti, part one Venus and the Three Graces Presenting Gifts to a Young Woman A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts The Story of Virginia The Story of Lucretia
Religious	Sant'Ambrogio Altarpiece The Discovery of the Body of Holofernes The Return of Judith to Bethulia Adoration of the Magi (Florence) St. Sebastian Life of Esther Saint Augustine in His Study (Florence: Ognissanti) Sistine Chapel: Temptations of Christ, Youth of Moses and Punishment of the Sons of Korah Cestello Annunciation Lamentation over the Dead Christ (Munich) Saint Augustine in His Study (Florence: Uffizi) Pala delle Convertite (Trinity) Lamentation over the Dead Christ (Milan) The Last Communion of Saint Jerome The Mystical Nativity Mystic Crucifixion Scenes from the Life of Saint Zenobius The Man of Sorrows
Madonnas	Virgin and Child with an Angel (Florence) Madonna della Loggia Madonna and Child (Avignon) Madonna delle Grazie Madonna in Glory with Seraphim Madonna of the Rose Garden Virgin and Child with Two Angels (Naples) Virgin and Child with Two Angels (Strasbourg) Virgin and Child with an Angel (Boston) Bardi Madonna Madonna of the Magnificat Madonna of the Book Madonna of the Pomegranate Madonna Adoring the Child with Five Angels Annunciation Glascow New York Virgin and Child with the Infant St. John the Baptist Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist Madonna del Padiglione
Portraits	Portrait of Smeralda Brandini Young Man (London) Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo the Elder Portrait of Giuliano de' Medici Young Man (Washington, D.C.) Young Woman (Frankfurt) Young Man (Florence) Portrait of a Young Man holding a Roundel
Related	Botticelli Inferno (2016 documentary) Botticelli (crater)

v t e Filippino Lippi
Paintings	Tobias and the Angel (c. 1475–1480) Annunciation with St John the Baptist and St Andrew (c. 1485) Three Angels and Young Tobias (c. 1485) Apparition of the Virgin to St Bernard (c. 1485–1487) Madonna with Child and Saints (c. 1485–1488) Apparition of Christ to the Virgin (c. 1493) Adoration of the Magi (1496) Allegory (c. 1498) (disputed) Marriage of St. Catherine (1501) Annunziata Polyptych (1504–1507) (with Pietro Perugino)
Painting series	Life of Esther (c. 1475) (with Sandro Botticelli)
Chapels	Brancacci Chapel Carafa Chapel
Related	Filippo Lippi (father)