Lot and his daughters - Alessandro Turchi (1578 - 1649)

Oil on canvas

Turchi was born and mainly active in Verona and therefore was also called Alessandro Veronese or L'Orbetto. He was highly respected and much requested artist, mainly in clerical and high society circles. This particular painting has the same warm and soft tones Turchi is known for. We can easily say that his style is quite Caravagesque.


This painting unravels the biblical tale of Lot and his daughters. At the forefront of the canvas, the figures of Lot and his daughters emerge, their forms draped in scant fabric, hinting at vulnerability and desperation. One daughter, her countenance both determined and conflicted, offers a chalice of wine to her father. This gesture, laden with moral ambiguity, speaks of a desperate attempt to sedate and seduce, an act born of the daughters' misguided intentions in the wake of catastrophic events.

In the background we can see a horizon engulfed in the fiery turmoil of a burning city, a stark reminder of the divine wrath that befell Sodom and Gomorrah.