Ahasuerus Ordering the Triumph of Mordecai

Of Veronese's three small scenes from the story of Esther in this room, this is the one the city owns outright. It came in 1871 with the bequest of Cesare Bernasconi, a collector in Verona, while the other two are on deposit from the Italian state.

The episode is the great reversal of the Book of Esther. Haman, the king's chief minister, hated Esther's cousin Mordecai for refusing to bow to him and had already built a gallows for him. Then King Ahasuerus, unable to sleep one night, had the court chronicles read to him and learned that Mordecai had once uncovered a plot against his life and never been rewarded. When Haman came in the next morning, the king asked him what should be done for a man the king wished to honour. Certain he meant himself, Haman proposed royal robes, the king's own horse, and one of the noblest princes leading the rider through the city and proclaiming his honour. Do all of that for Mordecai, the king told him, and do it yourself. The picture shows the king giving that order.