Intercession of Esther with King Ahasuerus and Haman
by PAOLINI, Pietro, Oil on canvas, 123 x 160 cm
The episode depicted here comes from chapters 5-7 in the Old Testament book of Esther, in which Esther intercedes with King Ahasuerus to spare the Jews. The king had taken Esther as his wife, not knowing she was Jewish, but when his councilor Haman decreed that all Jews in the Persian empire should be massacred, Esther intervened on behalf of her people and the king granted her request.
In the literature there is an alternative proposal for the subject of the painting: The Queen of Sheba before King Solomon.