Lot and His Daughters

Guercino had painted this canvas for a private client, but in 1651 it was delivered instead to Carlo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. The duke was in no hurry to pay. The money came only on 23 December 1657, when he settled 555 scudi for this picture and a Samson and Delilah together. The story is from Genesis. Lot and his two daughters escape as God destroys the city of Sodom, which burns in the background. His wife looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt, and Guercino includes her, a small pale figure standing alone on the plain. The daughters, believing no other men are left alive, get their father drunk so they can have children by him. One pours from a wicker flask into his cup while the other watches.