The Departure of Lot and his Family from Sodom (after Rubens)
British (English) School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1674 - 1675
Materials
Oil paint and canvas
Measurements
1320 x 1550 mm
Order this imageCollection
Tredegar, Newport
NT 1553528
Summary
Painting. An oil painting on canvas, The Departure of Lot and his Family from Sodom (after Rubens), English School, c1674. Lot, in the centre, guided by the Angel, and accompanied by his wife and daughters, leaves Sodom. Peculiarly, it is Lot who looks back over his shoulder. After an engraving by Lucas Vorsterman, the biblical story of Lot and his family leaving Sodom is told in the Old Testament, Book of Genesis 19: 1-28. God did not approve of the morals of the people of Sodom and decided to destroy the city and everyone in it. He was willing to save Lot and his family because Lot had been kind and protective of two angels who had been sent to Sodom as messengers. Lot, his wife, and his two daughters were sent from the city before its destruction. They were told by the angels to go into the mountains and not to look back at Sodom. Lot's wife did look back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Later, Lot's daughters made their father drunk and committed incest with him in order to have children. Their descendants, the Amorites, became enemies of Israel. After an engraving by Lucas Vorsterman the elder (Zaltbommel 1595 - Antwerp 1675) based on a painting by Rubens now in the Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida.
Provenance
In situ in the New Parlour, above the fireplace. In the Tredegar House collection since 1674. Part of the collection on loan to the National Trust from Newport Museum and Galleries. In March 2012 the National Trust took over the management of Tredegar House with its contents and its 90 acres of gardens and parkland, from Newport City Council for a period of 50 years.
Credit line
Tredegar House, The Morgan Collection (on loan to the National Trust from Newport Museums and Galleries)
Makers and roles
British (English) School, artist after Lucas Vorsterman the elder (Zaltbommel 1595 - Antwerp 1675), artist after Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen 1577 - Antwerp 1640), artist