![Théodore Chassériau - The Toilet of Esther [1841]](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3811/13816541165_0e88076441.jpg)
The subject derives from the Book of Esther, in which King Ahasuerus, having renounced his wife Vashti, seeks a new queen. Esther, a woman of great beauty, finds favour with Hegai, the eunuch responsible for preparing women for presentation to the king. Upon seeing Esther, Ahasuerus chooses her as his wife. She later reveals that she is Jewish, and intercedes with the king in order to spare the lives of the empire's Jews.
Esther is shown seated at the centre of the canvas, arms above her head as she arranges her blond coiffure. Preparing to offer herself for the king's approval, she holds a pose that is "profoundly erotic in its pictorial treatment.” She is nude to the waist except for a necklace and bracelets on her arms; her legs are swathed in white and rose-coloured garments. At the left a servant woman dressed in rich blue brings accessories, and at the right Hegai, clad in bright red, offers a jewel box. Esther acknowledges neither of them, staring out of the picture to the left. Behind them is a landscape of trees and sky.
[Musée du Louvre, Paris - Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 35.5 cm]