保羅‧居斯塔夫‧鐸芮（Paul Gustave Dore’, 1832-1883）為法國十九世紀的自學奇才，其文學插畫尤為著名，而1866年出版的【鐸芮聖經】（Bible de Doré）插畫更讓他享譽國際，此系列插畫與鐸芮的宗教油畫關係密切，而本畫便是一例。

畫中典故源自《聖經》〈士師記〉（11, 1- 40），以色列將領耶弗他（Jephthan）在對抗異族亞們人（Ammonites）時對神立誓，願在勝利歸來時將首位迎接他的人獻為燔祭；不料率先迎面而來的卻是自己的獨生女。耶弗他之女勸說父親履行諾言，惟懇請讓她上山為自己年少離世的命運哀悼兩個月。本畫場景便是耶弗他之女在山上的悼念沉思。

全畫以暗沉的藍、灰、青、褐為主色。相對之下，人物服飾上的少許紅色、左方天際的淡黃，與中央橫軸位置的一抹亮橘為整體帶來一絲靈動。耶弗他之女側腿坐在畫面中軸最高處，雙手微攏交叉輕置腿上，直挺的身軀頸項顯得優雅莊重，但在雙眉微蹙、半闔垂目與薄唇微開中不掩哀傷情緒。伴隨的女子們各自沉浸在悲痛中，無論是撐顎沉思、縮肩跪靠、望天無語、或力乏靠躺，幾近剪影的身姿半隱沒在陰影中，與草木貧瘠的山岩及無際的雲海融為一股蕭瑟蒼然，與少女的荳蔻嬌盈及初現的柔和曙光形成奇特對比。屹立的山岩與循環不止的日出似乎暗示出時間命運的流轉，點出人類生命的脆弱與短暫。耶弗他之女身上的金飾與女伴的淚光在霞光中隱隱閃爍，似乎訴說著美好年華即將瞬間而逝。這種莊嚴靜默的哀傷呼應了十九世紀詩人拜倫（George Gordon Byron, 1788 - 1824）所寫詩歌《耶弗他之女》中的悲劇英雄特質：純潔高貴的女子在熱愛父親及國家自由中，順服坦然面對自我犧牲的命運。(于禮本)

Paul Gustave Doré (1832-1883) was a self-taught prodigy of 19th-century France. His literary illustrations were particulary famous. Published in 1866, the Doré Bible won him international fame. Those illustrations were closely related to the religious paintings by Doré such as this one.

The theme of the painting is adapted from Judges 11:1-40. Jephthah, the Israelite chieftain, swore to God that upon his return from victory after the war against the Ammonites, he would sacrifice whoever welcomed him first as a burnt offering to God. To his surprise, it was his only daughter who welcomed him the first. Jephthah’s daughter persuaded him to keep the vow but asked for a grace of two-month’s retreat to bewail her early parting from the world. The scene in the painting depicts Jephthah’s daughter bewailing in the mountain.

The whole picture features such dull colors as grey, blue and brown, only some red in the clothes, the pale yellow in the horizon and the bright orange in the center set the scene in motion. With legs sideward, Jephthah’s daughter sits in the central high position. Although she seems graceful and stately in straight posture, sorrow belies her. All her companions look languid, almost silhouetted against the barren rocks and expansive clouds that serve as a contrast to the lively youthfulness of the girls and the dimming twilight. The ever-standing rock and the revolving sun suggest the fleetingness of time as well as vulnerability in humans and the transcience of life. The solemn silent mourning echoes the trait of the tragic heroine in George Gordon Byron’s Jephthah’s Daughter; the calmness and obedience of an innocent lady of noble birth in the face of self-sacrifice for her beloved father and the love for the freedom of her country. (Li Pen YU)