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The detail of the Esther Window in the upper church of the Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, represents Esther and Ahasuerus.
The iconographic program of the cycles on the windows in the Sainte-Chapelle covers the history of the world in hundreds of scenes, from the Creation up to the arrival in Paris of the relics of the Passion that Louis IX (1236-70) acquired for his chapel. The pictures are full of allusions to the French monarchy, associating it with the kings of the Old Testament and with Christ. The life and deeds of Queen Esther are held up as a mirror to queens as they attend mass in the palace chapel.
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