Lot Entertaining the Two Angels

A leading figure of Sienese Baroque painting, still little known today, Rutilio Manetti painted this work towards the end of his life. The quiet scene, taken from the Old Testament, shows Lot receiving into his house the two angels who had come to destroy Sodom, and protecting them from the inhabitants of the city. The angels then led Lot and his household out of the sinful city to safety.

Emphasising the virtue of hospitality, the composition centres on the richly laid table, rendered as an elaborate still life. The painter clearly delighted in the meticulous depiction of the delicate glassware, metal dishes, heavy tablecloth, various foods, and the light reflected on their surfaces. Built around the balanced arrangement of the three figures, the composition is distinguished by its harmonious calm, standing apart from the dynamic works of the Baroque period that typically sought dramatic effects.

Dóra Sallay, 2002, website.

Provenance

Acquisition of Archbishop János Csernoch

Bibliography

• Cséfalvay Pál, szerk.: Keresztény Múzeum, Esztergom. Budapest, 1993. 248, kat. sz. 248. Buzás Enikő
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• Brandi, Cesare: Rutilio Manetti 1571-1639. Siena, 1931. (Analógiaként l. 120-121; 132-133);
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