Charles Le Brun

CHARLES LE BRUN (Paris, 1619-1690).
"The Sacrifice of Jephthah".
Oil on canvas.
Frame of the nineteenth century.
Measurements: 67 cm. diameter; 85 x 35 cm (frame).

This is one of Charles Le Brun's versions of the biblical theme of the Sacrifice of Jephthah. If we compare our work with the canvas preserved in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, we find that except for the subtle chromatic variations, the similarities are remarkable, both in number of characters and composition, as well as in style and thematic treatment. "The Sacrifice of Jephthah" is a work of art that fuses the classicism of Charles Le Brun with the dramatic intensity of the Baroque, conveying with theatrical expressiveness a story about faith and unconditional love. Le Brun focuses on the climax of the tragedy: the daughter, resigned to her fate but serene, prostrates herself on a rock to be sacrificed. The father, judge of Israel, wrapped in a red robe, embodies extreme faith, although in his gesture mixed feelings of pain, duty and compassion converge. The surrounding characters emphasize the scene with gestures and expressions that reinforce the drama: grieving women, priests and spectators that intensify the emotional charge. The arrangement of the figures follows a classic pyramidal structure, with Jephthah as the central axis and the other characters guiding the viewer's gaze across the scene. The light falls on the faces and the richly pleated clothing, underlining the nobility and pathos of the moment. Le Brun, as the official painter of Louis XIV and the greatest exponent of French classicism, adopts an aesthetic influenced by Nicolas Poussin and Raphael. The precise and academic drawing, with well-delineated figures and a balanced composition, is combined with the dramatic use of light and color, creating hallmarks that reinforce the emotionality of the scene.

The biblical episode is narrated in the Book of Judges, where Jephthah, a judge of Israel, promises to sacrifice the first person who comes out to meet him if God grants him victory in battle. Tragically, it is his own daughter who receives him with joy, thus condemning herself to sacrifice.

Charles Le Brun was a French painter and important art theorist, one of the dominant artists in 17th century France. He trained in the workshop of Simon Vouet as a child, receiving commissions from Cardinal Richeliu at the age of fifteen. Between 1642 and 1646 he was in Rome, where he came into contact with works by Raphael, Guido Reni, the Bolognese school, etc., and where he was also a disciple of Poussin. He returned to Paris, and continued with an important work, reaching his stylistic maturity towards the middle of the century (classicist and elegant painting). He was ennobled by Louis XIV, who named him Premier Peintre du Roi in 1664. His work is preserved in the Louvre Museum in Paris, in Versailles, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, United States), the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon (France), the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg (Russia), the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. (United States), the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, etc.