Lot and His Daughters (1631): Art, History and Details

Lot and His Daughters (1631) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jan Georg van Vliet (Dutch, c. 1610–1635); Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

As a cautionary tale on the dangers of lust and alcohol, the biblical narrative of Lot and his daughters held appeal for artists, but it also raised complex questions about duty, sacrifice, and free will. In Rembrandt van Rijn’s version (etched here by Jan Georg van Vliet), the artist presented us with an inebriated older Lot, whose drunken expression is reminiscent of a patron at a local tavern. His daughters supply alcohol with coarse amusement.

Object facts

• Title: Lot and His Daughters
• Date: 1631
• Creator attribution: Jan Georg van Vliet (Dutch, c. 1610–1635); Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)
• Culture: Netherlands
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching and engraving
• Dimensions: Platemark: 27 x 22.3 cm (10 5/8 x 8 3/4 in.); Sheet: 27.9 x 22.8 cm (11 x 9 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1977.24

A detail from the museum

The loosened bodice and escaping bosom of the central female figure likely signaled her lapsed morals to contemporary viewers.

Collection credit

L. E. Holden Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.