Nadeen Haddad (ID: 23692)

ART 394 Analysis Report

Fall 2008

Lot and his Daughters

By Lucas van Leyden

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 Table of Contents

A. Introduction 3

B. Identity Information 3

C. Description 1: What I See 4

D. Description 2: Research 4

E. Description 3: Design Elements 5

F. Intent and Interpretation 6

G. Art Historical Style 7

H. Personal Assessment 10

I. List of Illustration Sources 11

J. Bibliography 12

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A. Introduction

The piece is “Lot and his Daughters” (1520) by Lucas van Leyden. The Dutch

artist depicts the biblical story of incest between Lot and his daughters and

destruction of the evil city Sodom. This High Renaissance work represents the

mastery of non-Italian artists in a time when Italians were best known for great art.

Unlike other artists who worked on the same topic and like Italian artists at the time,

Lucas van Leyden was able to narrate in one piece the entire story of Lot’s escape

from Sodom, burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, and seduction of Lot.

B. Identity Information

 Artist: Lucas van Leyden

 Title: Lot and his Daughters (Lot seduced by his daughters, with Sodom

and Gomorrah being destroyed in the background)

 Year of production: 1520

 Medium: oil painting on panel

 Dimensions: 48cm High x 34cm Wide

 Provenance: Rembrandt

 Location: Musée du Louvre, Paris

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 C. Description 1: What I See

The main setting is a rocky land where a man and two women are sitting. They

are camped out near a river and caves. The man and one of the women are sitting

next to each other in front of a red tent, with the man’s arm around the woman’s

shoulders and his other hand locked into her hand. He also appears to be leaning his

lips onto her cheek. In front of them is the other woman pouring wine into a jar.

Both women are wearing long sleeved dresses. The dress of the one sitting is

violet with orange sleeves. Her hair is tied back with an orange, feathery headdress.

The upper part of the dress along with the sleeves of the woman standing is black,

while the lower part is red. Her black headdress covers her hair down to the top of

her neck. The man is wearing a blue cape, big beige fur collar, red stockings, brown

boots, and a triangular hat with black exterior and beige interior.

The land extends to a hill on the left side of the painting. Behind the main scene

is a curved, wooden bridge. There are four vague figures crossing it with a donkey.

The bridge connects the land to a city further in the background. Above the city, a

dark gray sky is the source of fire that burns the city and some of the ships.

D. Description 2: Research

The painting depicts a religious story in the bible, more specifically Genesis

19:30-381. The story is well known among artists and is directly linked to destruction

1
Hall, J. Introduction by Clark, K. (1974). Dictionary of subjects & symbols in art.
Colorado: Westview Press.

4
 and incest. The man in the painting represents Lot, the nephew of Abraham, and the

2 women are his daughters.

In Genesis, Lot left Ur to settle in Sodom, but angels warned him that a disaster

will strike there because the city was filled with evil2. He escaped with his family.

While escaping, the city burned down with brimstone. His wife turned into a pillar of

salt, because she betrayed God by looking back at the city. Believing that they were

the only survivors, the daughters seduced their father to bear him children.

In “Lot and his Daughters,” the burning city in the background is Sodom. The

people crossing the bridge appear to be Lot and his family, with his wife being left

behind. However, according to Barth3, the figures on the bridge are wanderers. The

main scene shows one daughter getting Lot drunk and the other seducing him.

After lying with their father, each daughter bears him a son, Moab and Ammon4.

The two men later become the founders of the Moabite and Ammonite nations,

which are the adversaries of Israel2.

E. Description 3: Design Elements

The painting’s main design element is space. Lucas van Leyden clearly gives the

illusion of space and depth by depicting three events in one frame. For Leyden to do

so, he used linear perspective and an island in the background as a vanishing point.

The result is a chronology of events, with the earliest shown the farthest. The size of
2
Lot. (2008). In Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 24, 2008, from
Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.search.eb.com/ebc/article-9370570
3
Barth, T. (n.d.) Stacking overflow. Unitn.it. Retrieved December 8, 2008, from
http://www.unitn.it/events/alpis06/download/prog/12_Barth.pdf
4
Hall, J. Introduction by Clark, K. (1974). Dictionary of subjects & symbols in art.
Colorado: Westview Press.

5
 the objects has the same effect. The first event, the burning of Sodom, is relatively

small to the last event, seduction of Lot.

Leyden also exhibits an imaginative use of colors5. He uses color and value to

emphasize distance. The main scene of Lot and his daughters is the darkest value and

highest intensity of red, blue, and black, while the background, which is the bridge

and Sodom, is the brightest, making it appear vague and less intense.

F. Intent and Interpretation

Lucas van Leyden painted “Lot and his Daughters” not only to retell the story of

Lot found in Genesis, but to send a message to warn people of the power of women

over men6. Despite the father’s instinct to avoid incest, he was overcome by the

power his daughters had on him.

Although Leyden depicts a religious story, he does so realistically. For example,

the destruction was by fire, even though it is known that the cities were destroyed by

brimstone, a symbol of eternal damnation. Another example is that Lot and his

daughters are fully dressed. In other paintings of the same subject, they are nude

among nature. What is not realistic is that people are not in a state of calmness or

even love while a city burns down behind them. Lot and his daughters are shown to

carry on normally and simultaneously a city is being destroyed. However, knowing

the story of the painting clarifies that. The 2 events are in the same frame, but they

occurred at different time frames.

5
Helicon Publishing. (2005). Hutchinson Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. Abingdon,
Oxfordshire, GBR: Helicon Publishing. Retrieved October 23, 2008, from
http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.aus.edu/lib/aus/Doc?id=10130745&ppg=392
6
Turner, J. (Ed.). (1996). Lucas van Leyden. The dictionary of art (Vol. 19). NY: Grove.

6
 Even symbolism is realistic. Lucas van Leyden uses the red color for the tent.

However, red has also been used to symbolize sin and adultery. Other symbols are

the two hidden arcs. A clearer image is in Figure 1. The left arc is the cave behind

the tent, representing an earthly gate that led Lot and his daughters to salvation. The

right arc is formed by smoke from the fire above Sodom; it is a “fiery arc of

destruction”7.

Figure 1. Arcs

G. Art Historical Style

The historical style of “Lot and his Daughters” is High Renaissance. It is a piece

of work done at a time when art was centered on humanism and realism. Leyden was

known to be influenced by Italian artists, who were the focus of Renaissance8. His

use of linear perspective is proof of that.

The story of Lot and his daughters was always popular. Medieval artists who

painted Lot focused on the burning city or the escape of Lot9. Renaissance paintings

7
Barth, T. (n.d.) Stacking overflow. Unitn.it. Retrieved December 8, 2008, from
http://www.unitn.it/events/alpis06/download/prog/12_Barth.pdf
8
Helicon Publishing. (2005). Hutchinson Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. Abingdon,
Oxfordshire, GBR: Helicon Publishing. Retrieved October 23, 2008, from
http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.aus.edu/lib/aus/Doc?id=10130745&ppg=392
9
Mellinkoff, R. (Autumn 1998). Titian's pastoral scene: A unique rendition of Lot and
his daughters. Renaissance Quarterly, 51(3), 828-864. Retrieved October. 23, 2008,
from ProQuest database.

7
 were instead about the daughters seducing their father. Artists other than Leyden

include Philips Galle and Georg Pencz10. Another example is Titian, who painted

“Pastoral Concert” (1505), shown in Figure 2, as a sensual style of Lot and his

daughters11.

Figure 2. Titian's Pastoral Concert

Even Leyden made two versions of “Lot and his Daughters”. The later one is an

engraving that is only about Lot and his daughters, shown in Figure 3.

10
Lot and his daughters. (n.d.). Spaightwood Galleries, Inc. Retrieved October 23,
2008, from http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Bible_Lot.html
11
Helicon Publishing. (2005). Hutchinson Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. Abingdon,
Oxfordshire, GBR: Helicon Publishing. Retrieved October 23, 2008, from
http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.aus.edu/lib/aus/Doc?id=10130745&ppg=392

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 Figure 3. Second version of Lot and his Daughters

This earlier version by Leyden differs from the others in that it is more realistic

and is a narrative. Other pieces have Lot in the major scene with a small background.

Yet, Leyden’s depiction of several events at the same time is similar to Masaccio’s

“The Tribute Money” (1425).

The topic of this painting relates to other pieces by Leyden. Almost all his work

has a common theme of religion and morality. Like this piece is about the destruction

of evil, “The Adoration of the Golden Calf” (1530) is a painting of people losing

faith in their god. Although we do not know if this specific piece was accepted,

Leyden was a praised and famous Dutch artist in the Netherlands and Italy12.

12
Zirpolo, L. (2008). Historical dictionary of Renaissance art. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow
Press.

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H. Personal Assessment

I chose this painting because I thought it was non-religious. It also appeared

different from other works in that it did not have grandness to it. It was simple, yet

complicated with all the people, caves, city, fire, sea, bridge. Research helped me

piece the puzzle and figure out the story behind it, which is in fact a whole religious

story with all its elements perfectly placed.

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I. List of Illustration Sources

Cover page: Abraham to Zacharias. (n.d.). Arthistoryarchive.com. Retrieved

December 8, 2008, from

http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/christian/images/LucasvanLeyde

n-Lot-and-his-Daughters-1520.jpg

Figure 1: Barth, T. (n.d.) Stacking overflow. Unitn.it. Retrieved December 8, 2008,

from http://www.unitn.it/events/alpis06/download/prog/12_Barth.pdf

Figure 2: Pastoral Concert. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2008, from

http://www.wga.hu/art/g/giorgion/various/concert.jpg

Figure 3: Lot and his daughters. (2008). Art and the bible. Retrieved December 6,

2008, from http://www.artbible.info/art/large/63.html

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J. Bibliography

Barth, T. (n.d.) Stacking overflow. Unitn.it. Retrieved December 8, 2008, from

http://www.unitn.it/events/alpis06/download/prog/12_Barth.pdf

Hall, J. Introduction by Clark, K. (1974). Dictionary of subjects & symbols in

art. Colorado: Westview Press.

Helicon Publishing. (2005). Hutchinson Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. Abingdon,

Oxfordshire, GBR: Helicon Publishing. Retrieved October 23, 2008, from

http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.aus.edu/lib/aus/Doc?id=10130745&ppg=392

Lot. (2008). In Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 24, 2008,

from Encyclopædia Britannica Online:

http://www.search.eb.com/ebc/article-9370570

Lot and his daughters. (n.d.). Spaightwood Galleries, Inc. Retrieved October

23, 2008, from

http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Bible_Lot.html

Mellinkoff, R. (Autumn 1998). Titian's pastoral scene: A unique rendition of

Lot and his daughters. Renaissance Quarterly, 51(3), 828-864.

Retrieved October. 23, 2008, from ProQuest database.

Turner, J. (Ed.). (1996). Lucas van Leyden. The dictionary of art (Vol. 19).

NY: Grove.

Zirpolo, L. (2008). Historical dictionary of Renaissance art. Lanham, Md.:

Scarecrow Press.

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