Artwork

Flight of Lot and his Daughters

Flight of Lot and his Daughters, by Peter Paul Rubens, paint
Flight of Lot and his Daughters, by Peter Paul Rubens, paint

Flight of Lot and his Daughters is a paint painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Peter Paul Rubens. It is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.

About this work

Overview

Peter Paul Rubens executed *Flight of Lot and His Daughters* in 1707, a late work within his prolific output. The painting illustrates a narrative episode from Genesis, portraying the patriarch Lot and his daughters fleeing the condemned city of Sodom under divine guidance. Rubens’s composition emphasizes physical motion and emotional intensity, hallmarks of the Flemish Baroque.

Subject & Meaning

The painting captures the moment Lot and his daughters escape Sodom’s destruction, accompanied by an angel. The biblical account underscores divine intervention and survival amid catastrophe. Rubens’s depiction focuses on the figures’ urgent movement, suggesting both physical flight and moral deliverance. The daughters’ varied postures and expressions convey vulnerability and determination.

Technique & Style

Rubens employs vigorous brushwork and rich color contrasts to animate the scene. The figures’ drapery swirls dynamically, reinforcing the sense of haste. Chiaroscuro modeling deepens the spatial illusion, while the landscape’s muted tones heighten the foreground drama. The composition’s diagonal thrust and overlapping forms reflect Baroque principles of movement and theatricality.

History & Provenance

Completed in 1707, *Flight of Lot and His Daughters* entered the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it remains. Rubens’s late works often revisited biblical themes with heightened emotional and formal complexity. The painting’s early ownership history is unrecorded, but its inclusion in a major public collection underscores its significance within the artist’s oeuvre.

Context

Rubens’s engagement with biblical narratives reflects the Counter-Reformation’s emphasis on dramatic, accessible religious art. As a diplomat and painter, he synthesized Italian and Northern European traditions, producing works that balanced grandeur with human immediacy. This painting exemplifies his mature style, blending narrative clarity with expressive dynamism.

Artist & collection

Portrait of Peter Paul Rubens

Artist

Peter Paul Rubens

Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ROO-bənz; Dutch: ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat.

This work is in the public domain (CC0). Image source: Gemäldegalerie Berlin open access. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.