Allegorie op de overwinning van koningin Ester 1728

Pieter Tanjé created this etching, ‘Allegory on the Victory of Queen Esther,’ in the Netherlands, sometime in the first half of the 18th century. It visualizes the story of Esther, a Jewish queen of Persia, who saved her people from genocide. This story of a woman saving her people had enormous resonance in the Dutch Republic, a small nation that had won its independence through revolt against the vast Spanish Empire a century before. Here, we see Esther in the foreground, as a Dutch maiden, being crowned by an allegorical figure of Victory. In the background, the enemies of the Dutch Republic are struck down by lightning. The print was likely made for a Protestant audience which would have been familiar with the story of Esther. Prints like these were often included as illustrations in bibles and other religious texts. To understand this image better, we might research the religious publishing industry of the Dutch Golden Age, and the way that biblical stories were used to comment on contemporary political events.