Lot and his Daughters

The composition of the work is balanced and rhythmical. The figures are placed so that the faces could be painted as large as possible. On the right we see the dark entrance to the cave that has been painted almost like a plan; on the right there are the city walls enveloped in flames. The figures in the composition are united not only in their movement but also in their inner activity. Lot, a well-dressed, thickset old man, already drunk, has embraced his oldest daughter and takes a wine goblet from her. The artist’s absorption with the psychology of the images is combined with almost child-like naivety that makes the painting especially expressive. The tragic content of the subject notwithstanding, the painting delights with its brilliant, light colours, the powerful contrasts in tone and the rhythms of the garment folds, ornamentation and tongues of fire.