''Lot and His Daughters'' is an oil on canvas painting by Italian artist Orazio Gentileschi, created ''c.'' 1628, depicting the Biblical episode of Lot and his daughters. It is one of several versions that the painter did of this episode. The painting is of large dimensions and is signed on its central part, on the right side, with the inscription HORA.vs GIENTIL.vs. (on a rock: below a vine and above the bottle, between the daughter in blue and the lake). The current version is held in the

Bilbao Fine Arts Museum The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum (Spanish: ''Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao'', Basque language, Basque: ''Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa'') is an art museum located in the city of Bilbao, Spain. The building of the museum is located entirely inside the ci ...

History

In 1626, Gentileschi traveled to England at the request of the Duke of Buckingham, a collector interested in his art and who had previously acquired some of his works. During his stay in England, and at the request of Charles I of England, Gentileschi, produced of several large dimensions paintings inspired by the Bible, including the current.

Description

The canvas narrates the moment when the daughters, after finding shelter in a cave, make their father drunk with the intention of having carnal relations with him. Gentileschi has interpreted the subject by making use of insinuation and suggestion rather than to present the harshness of the facts. Lot rests drunk in the arms of one of his daughters, while the other, standing up, points with one hand towards the outside of the cave where they have taken refuge; we glimpse the mother turned into a pillar of salt, and in the distance

Sodom Sodom may refer to: Places Historic * Sodom and Gomorrah, cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis United States * Sodom, Kentucky, a ghost town * Sodom, New York, a hamlet * Sodom, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Sodom, West Virginia, an ...

in flames. In this theatrical way, the young woman argues the reasons for having to sleep with her father. The two women express the sensuality of the imminent sexual encounter by displaying part of their torso, even insinuating the birth of the breasts. A nearby vessel recalls the drunkenness of the patriarch. This effect is accentuated by the nearby vine branch, which circumscribes the group at its top. The artist has chosen bright colors for the daughters' clothing: yellow and ultramarine blue; Lot's dress has been resolved in a crimson hue.

Seven different versions

Gentileschi had already dealt with the same theme before, in 1621, in a very different composition of which there are at least four versions: in the

Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views over ...

, in Los Angeles, (considered the first), at the Gemäldegalerie, in Berlin, at the National Gallery of Canada, in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, and at the

Thyssen Bornemisza Museum The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (in Spanish, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (), named after its founder), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Prado Museum on one of the city's main boulevards. ...

, in Madrid, a version now considered to have been painted by his assistants.Ana Sánchez-Lassa de los Santos, ""Lot y sus hijas" de Orazio Gentileschi: su restauración", Anuario del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao N.º 1991, Bilbao, 1991. pp. 33-48 (Spanish) Articles about the other versions of this painting are: * Lot and His Daughters (Orazio Gentileschi, Berlin), 1622 (right daughter with red dress) * Lot and His Daughters (Orazio Gentileschi, Los Angeles), 1622 (right daughter with yellow dress) * Lot and His Daughters (Orazio Gentileschi, Madrid), 1621-1623 (right daughter with yellow dress, painted by his assistants)

References

{{reflist 1628 paintings Paintings by Orazio Gentileschi Paintings of Lot (biblical person)