Oil on canvas. The painting represents Jephthah and his daughter, two biblical figures from the Old Testament. The girl is depicted in profile, dressed in the attire of a 17th-century Venetian lady: a low-cut dress, cinched at the waist with a golden belt, and puffed sleeves; her blonde hair is gathered and interwoven with strands of pearls, and she wears dangling earrings. With one hand, she brings a cloth to her face to dry her tears, while with the other, she holds her father's hand. Jephthah, on the other hand, wears armor, a heavy red cloak rests on his right arm, and he seems to be pointing outside the frame; his expression is one of suffering. The feelings expressed by the protagonists - despair bordering on madness in the character in question, gentle resignation in the weeping girl, who holds the man's hand almost as if to console him - well illustrate the tragic story of the warrior who returned victorious but was forced by a vow to sacrifice his own daughter. According to the analysis of art historian Dr. Ludovica Trezzani, whose expertise is attached, the painting here under examination constitutes a replica, varied in size and with a slightly closer framing, of a composition by Girolamo Forabosco, which is also known by the title "Medoro and Angelica", because the subject of the painting has always been sought within the context of Ariosto's poem. Dr. Trezzani retraces in her analysis the sequence of hypotheses that have led to reading the Old Testament subject in the work instead. The expert defines the painting as "precious in material and skilled in many passages but not as successful in others and therefore probably executed in the workshop of Forabosco and partly with his direct intervention but with ample responsibility of one or more assistants, as was the practice in the workshops of the time." The painting shows signs of previous restoration and relining. It is presented in a frame.
Product Condition:
Product in good condition, shows minor signs of wear. We try to present the actual state as completely as possible with the photos. If some details are not clear from the photos, what is reported in the description prevails.
Frame dimensions (cm):
Height: 125
Width: 161
Depth: 7
Artwork dimensions (cm):
Height: 113.5
Width: 150
ARARPI0296396
