Old Painting From The Italian School Of The 17th Century

Lot and his daughters (Sodom and Gomorrah) Italian master of the 1600s DIMENSIONS WITHOUT FRAME: 85 X 120 CM LOT and THE GIRLS The story derives from the Bible, from the book of Genesis where it is said that in the towns of the valley (where now there is the Dead Sea), the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had filled every measure with their sins and God had decided to destroy them with fire. Lot, Abraham's grandson, lived at the gates of the city of Sodom and, judged righteous, God had sent him two angels to inform him of the punishment that was about to befall the city. Lot hosted the two Angels who looked like handsome young men, but the corrupt sodomites demanded to let the two strangers out to abuse them. In order not to break the sacred hospitality and protect the angels, Lot offered his two daughters in exchange, but the angry sodomites were about to break down the door, when the angels stepped in and blinded them. After trying to warn the people of Sodom of the danger, without being believed, at dawn, the angels awoke Lot to run away with his family, advising them not to turn around to look at the city then that they were fleeing. Having left Lot with his wife and daughters, the Lord caused sulfur and fire to fall on Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them. Lot's wife, although warned not to go back, did so anyway and thus became a pillar of salt, while only Lot and his two daughters who reached the city of Zoar were saved. But Lot left Zoar because he didn't feel comfortable and went to live on the mountain, settling in a cave with his two daughters. The area where they had taken refuge was uninhabited and the two girls began to worry that they could not have children and in the book of Genesis the fact is described as follows: “The elder said to the younger: Our father is old and there is no one on this territory to join us, according to the use of the whole earth. Come on, let our father drink wine and then sleep with him, so we will have offspring from our father. That night they made their father drink wine, and the elder lay down with him; but he did not notice it, neither when she went to bed, nor when she got up. The older sister, after consuming incest, urged the younger sister to do the same. From these two incests were born two children: “The eldest gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites who still exist today. Even the youngest gave birth to a son and called him the Son of my people. He is the father of the Ammonites who exist to this day. "Pietro Paolini, known as Lucchese (June 3, 1603 - April 12, 1681), was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Operating in Rome, Venice and finally in his native Lucca, he was a follower of Caravaggio to which he responded in a very personal way. He founded an Academy in his hometown, which trained the next generation of Lucca painters. Paolini's father sent his son to the Angelo Caroselli's workshop in Rome when he was 16. Angelo Caroselli was a disciple of Caravaggio who worked in an eclectic style. Around 1652 (or perhaps even earlier) Paolini founded the "Academy of Painting and Drawing of Lucca ", where he helped train many painters. The Academy contributed to a particularly lively artistic environment in Lucca in the second half of the 17th century. Many artists were trained at the Academy, such as Girolamo Scaglia, Simone del Tintore (painter of still lifes) and his brothers Francesco and Cassiano, Antonio Franchi, Giovanni Coli and Filippo Gherardi. [Pietro Testa may also have been a pupil of Paolini. Paolini had a collection of coins and plaster casts taken from ancient models, as well as a collection of ancient and modern weapons that served as models and accessories for the Academy. Later, Paolini almost completely abandoned painting to devote himself to teaching. He died in Lucca in 1681.