Jephthah's daughter

Woodcut, 1951

Technique: Druck-Holzschnitt
Size: 34,5 x 23 cm

CID: 281035
Collection: Dethleffs/Riedle

Biblical topics

Fridel Dethleffs-Edelmann trained her daughter Ursula as an artist. Ursula's father, Arist Dethleffs, liked to spoil her alongside his work as the owner of the caravan factory he had built. The grandmother Luise Edelmann, born Schiff - affectionately called Gogge - has brought up Ursula in every respect - including strictly. After the death of her husband, she moved to the family of her only child Fridel.

As a devout Christian, grandma often told her granddaughter Ursula what she had read in the Old Testament that day. We find the content of these conversations in many works by Ursula, who was astonished at the time. Biblical themes were the basis of Ursula's first color woodcuts, which were created from the age of 18.

On the biblical story: Jephta's daughter: Jephta's oath should bind God that Jephta wins the war against his enemies. God helped him. But with his oath Jephta had dedicated the first to death, which he met in front of his house after his victory.

To his fright, his only daughter greeted him. With that she was doomed to die. She surrendered to her fate, because she had no choice. 

In the woodcut we see: Jephta comes home victorious and with 3 arrows in the quiver. His daughter happily greets him with music from her tambourine, because she did not know her father's oath.

Then joy turns into pain: to the right and left of Jephta are his daughter and himself in black mourning clothes.

Passepartout Front signed-titled-edition of the print-Back-dated