The rider in armour draws back, one hand at his chest.
Bible in art · Judges
Daughter of Jephthah
Louis Chéron · late 17th century
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Louis Chéron was a Paris-trained painter and draughtsman who moved to London in the 1690s and worked there as a history painter and book illustrator. This finished drawing, only 20 cm high, is done in pen and brown wash with white highlights.
Jephthah rides home at the head of his soldiers. Before the city gate his daughter comes out to meet him with flowers in her hair, and a companion behind her lifts a tambourine. Jephthah draws back on his rearing horse, one hand at his chest.
From the text
- Jephthah coming home to Mizpah (Judges 11:34)
- His daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing (Judges 11:34)
- His grief as soon as he sees her (Judges 11:35)
The artist’s own
- Soldiers in Roman armour and plumed helmets
- A round fortress tower for the city
- Flowers in the daughter’s hair
- A companion with the tambourine — the text says only that she came with tambourines and dancing
Details
Jephthah
His daughter
A young woman with flowers in her hair comes towards him.
The tambourine
A companion lifts a tambourine above her head.
An old soldier
A bald, bearded soldier in armour walks with a staff.
The city
A round fortress tower and the wall of the town.
Louis Chéron, French, 1660–1725. National Gallery of Art, Washington (Gift of Jeffrey E. Horvitz, 2021.53.3) · Pen and black ink with brown wash, heightened with white gouache, on laid paper with a gold border, laid down · NGA Open Access: "Images of these works are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial, under Creative Commons Zero (CC0)." (NGA open data: published_images.csv openaccess = 1)