Description
Pier Dandini (Florence 1646 – Florence 1712) – Esther and Ahasuerus.
Oil on canvas, in carved and gilded wooden frame.
Expert opinions: Prof. Sandro Bellesi, Sesto Fiorentino (critical essay enclosed).
Pier Dandini is one of the most significant figures in late Baroque Florentine painting. Trained in the workshop of his uncle Vincenzo and further developed through stays in Venice and Rome, he became from the mid-1670s one of the most sought-after painters among the Medici and the Florentine patrician class, active in the decoration of villas, palaces and churches. His style is distinguished by compositional elegance, a refined chromatic palette and a lively brushwork, drawing on the lessons of Ciro Ferri and the experimentation of Livio Mehus, making him a forerunner of Florentine rocaille painting.
The painting depicts the Old Testament episode of Esther’s intercession before the Persian king Ahasuerus, drawn from the Book of Esther. The queen is shown at the moment she faints in the arms of her handmaidens in the presence of the sovereign, rendered with the chromatic delicacy and compositional grace characteristic of the artist’s mature period. The figure of Ahasuerus, clad in armour and a crimson mantle, occupies the right side of the scene with an open gesture toward the queen, while a group of courtiers and figures in shadow animate the architectural background. The precious colouring and enamel-like effects in the draperies connect the work, by comparison with documented paintings such as the Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena in Siena Cathedral (1679) and the Assumption of the Virgin and Saints in Santa Verdiana in Florence (1680), to a dating towards the late 1670s and early 1680s. The work, previously unpublished, constitutes a new addition to Pier Dandini’s autograph catalogue, as attested by the expert opinion of Prof. Sandro Bellesi.
Condition report: Original canvas. Good state of conservation of the painted surface, with some repairs and joins.
