# Famous Persons: Queen Esther [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ANDREA DEL CASTAGNO]() - Date: 1401-1450 - Technique: Fresco transferred to wood, 120 x 150 cm ## Commentary Famous Persons: Queen Esther c. 1450 Fresco transferred to wood, 120 x 150 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence The picture shows one of the three famous women represented in the cycle. Esther, the beautiful Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus \(Xerxes I\), and her cousin Mordecai persuaded the king to retract an order for the general annihilation of Jews throughout the empire. The massacre had been plotted by the king's chief minister, Haman, and the date decided by casting lots \(purim\). Instead, Haman was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai; and on the day planned for their annihilation, the Jews destroyed their enemies. ## Related artworks - [Christ in the Sepulchre with Two Angels]() - [Christ in the Sepulchre with Two Angels \(synopia\)]() - [Crucifixion and Saints]() - [Crucifixion \(detail\)]() - [Crucifixion]() - [Crucifixion]() - [Deposition]() - [Dormition of the Virgin]() - [Dormition of the Virgin]() - [Dormition of the Virgin]() - [Famous Persons Cycle \(reconstruction\)]() - [Famous Persons: Dante Allighieri]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()