The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt
September 20, 2025–March 8, 2026
The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt showcases how the biblical story of heroic Queen Esther, depicted by Rembrandt and his contemporaries in art and popular culture, expressed ideas of political and religious freedom during the Dutch Golden Age.
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Read on the annual Jewish holiday of Purim, the Book of Esther recounts the struggle and triumph of the Jewish people in exile under the Persian empire of Ahasuerus. Esther, who hides her Jewish identity as the new wife of the Persian king, speaks up against the king’s chief adviser, saving the Jews from annihilation. Popular representations of Esther’s story in 17th-century Dutch paintings, prints, drawings, and decorative arts came to embody the Netherland’s religious and political independence in the face of oppressive Spanish rule. Netherlanders, including Rembrandt and his contemporaries, embraced Esther as a personification of their emerging nation’s identity, crafting her into a new heroine for a new century. Charting this history through objects and artworks, The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt provides an original perspective on one of the most studied periods of Dutch prosperity.
Plan Your Visit
The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt is on view in East Building, Level B, Meymandi Exhibition Gallery.
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- Free for members and children 6 and under
- $20 Adults
- $17 Seniors age 65 and older
- $12 Students (ages 7–22)
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- Gerrit van Honthorst, Elizabeth Stuart as Esther, circa 1632, oil on canvas, 28 × 22 7/16 in., Private collection, by courtesy of the Hoogsteder Museum Foundation, The Hague
- Salom Italia, Esther Scroll, Amsterdam, 1640s, printed and hand-colored border, handwritten text, ink, and gouache on parchment, scroll H. 4 in., carved ivory and silk roller H. 9 in., Jewish Museum London, C 1973.4.2.4
The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt is co-organized by the Jewish Museum, New York, and the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh.
In Raleigh the exhibition is made possible, in part, by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation, Inc.; The Slomo and Cindy Silvian Foundation, Inc.; Samuel P. Mandell Foundation; Lisa and Steve Feierstein; Dawn F. Lipson; Dutch Culture USA, a program of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the United States; and the William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment for Educational Exhibitions. Research for this exhibition was made possible by Ann and Jim Goodnight/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Curatorial and Conservation Research and Travel.
