Lot and his Daughters

Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri 1589 - 1656-1658

Summary

In the Old Testament story (Genesis 19. 30-38), Lot and his daughters, warned by angels, escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and went to live in a cave in the hills above the city of Zo'ar. Believing that they were the only ones left on earth to perpetuate the human race, Lot's daughters plied him with wine in order to seduce him. The sisters' faces and upper bodies are well lit, revealing low cut gowns with tight bodices. The tender touch on Lot's naked shoulder is by both daughter and lover, and Lot is already the guilty victim of circumstance. The subject matter calls into question morality and duty, topics that were central to religious art in the 17th century. Formerly ascribed to Gerrit van Honthorst (1590-1656), the painting is now accepted as by Guerrieri, from the period of his second visit to Rome in 1616-18. Guerrieri, a self-taught painter from Fossombrone, near Urbino, first went to Rome in 1606, where he came under the influence of Caravaggio and his followers, above all Orazio Gentileschi. During his second visit, he produced a series of frescoes and over-door paintings for the Palazzo Borghese. After his return to the Marches, he worked mainly on religious commissions.

Display Label

Lot and his Daughters, early 1600s Attributed to Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri 1589 - 1655/59 Oil on canvas The story of Lot and his daughters is told in the Bible. After they escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's daughters thought they were the only survivors. In order to perpetuate the human race they decided to ply their father with wine and seduce him while he was drunk. The tender touch on Lot's shoulder is at once that of a daughter and a lover. Lot is already the guilty victim of circumstance. This painting questions morality and duty, pleasure and sin, topics which were hotly debated in the 17th century. Transferred from the Royal Manchester Institution 1882.45