Lot 22

Giovanni Battista Langetti (1625 - 1676) (follower) DRUNKEN LOT

Langetti worked initially in Genoa, later in Rome, Naples and finally in Venice. In Rome and Naples, he was influenced by the work of the followers of Michelangelo Carravaggio and Giuseppe Ribera. In agreement with these authors, he often chose dramatic, strongly expressive themes with full use of the contrasts of darkness. With distinct naturalism, he painted repeatedly muscular men, whose faces reflected the suffering or other extreme situations. One of his favorite topics was the Old Testament incident of Lot and his daughters, who left the punished city of Sodoma. Girls left with their father, found a shelter in a cave in the mountains with him, got drunk there, and slept with him in an effort to preserve the family line. His muscular body fills the entire area of the image, his massive chest and belly are markedly modeled, and his muscles are emphasized on his arms and legs. The head of the sleeping old man is slightly inclined to his shoulder, his gray-white hair framing his face. The face is covered with somewhat roughly painted wrinkles. Lot touches a wine bowl with one hand, holding a bunch of wine in the other. Both the naturalistic concept and the painting itself are close to Langetti's paintings on this subject, but there are also some details that differ from this artist in their elaboration. It is most likely the work of a close follower. Artwork consulted with PhDr. Hana Seifertová.