HUGUES MERLE | QUEEN ESTHER

Frank Martinek, Tucson, Arizona (acquired in Chicago circa 1940)

Thence by descent to the present owner

Hugues Merle has often been compared to his contemporary and possible rival William Bouguereau because of his meticulous and highly finished Academic style. Merle sought inspiration in mythology, literature and religion, and for the present lot he chose Esther, the heroine of the Old Testament, as his subject. This work appears to be related to a larger composition entitled Esther (1875), previously in the Percy A. Rockefeller collection, sold at Parke-Bernet Galleries in 1938 but since untraced, in which she is flanked by King Ahasuerus and an attendant. Merle is recognized for his psychologically charged compositions, and Queen Esther is no exception. The difficulty of and anguish over her decision can be sensed in her eyes as she is likely about to break court etiquette and risk her life to plead for the Jewish people before her husband, the Persian king.