Lot and His Daughters (Orazio Gentileschi, Bilbao)
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. 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