Signed Ant. Zanchi [pit?].
Oil on canvas. 229cm by 274cm.
Zanchi was born in Este, near Padua in 1631 and died in Venice in 1722. He was a prolific artist who worked mainly in Venice.
The story of Jepthah is told in the Old Testament Book of Judges, chapters 10-12. He swears an oath that: ‘whatever/whoever emerges and comes out of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be God’s and I shall sacrifice them as a burnt offering’. The painting records the moment when the first person to greet him on his return is his adored daughter and only child.
