Updated 14 April 2025
On Display Special Exhibition Wing
On Display
Special Exhibition Wing
The Flight of Lot and His Family from Sodom (after Rubens)
| Date | c. 1618-20 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on canvas |
| Size（cm） | 169.5 x 198.5 |
| Credit Line | Purchased |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.1978-0006 |
The scene of Lot and his family fleeing the sinful city of Sodom at the behest of two angels is based on the Old Testament Book of Genesis:19. The hesitating figure of Lot is shown in the center with his wife seen in profile to his left and his two daughters, trying to carry their riches with them, behind him to the right. They are shown in a gloomy unsettled scene as Lot abandons his position in the town in accordance with an order from God. The pillar seen in the central back section of the composition prefigures the fate of Lot's wife, who is turned into a pillar of salt when she looks back at the city. There are three other known works that have essentially the same dimensions and composition as this work (Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida; Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, Florida; Private collection). A comparison of the details of these works was thought to be a good method of clarifying Rubens's studio methods, and thus in the summer of 1993 a study exhibition entitled The Flight of Lot and his Family from Sodom: Rubens and his Workshop was held at the NMWA. The exhibition brought together the NMWA work alongside the two oil paintings from the Bass and Ringling museums, a reproduction engraving of the composition by Lucas Vorsterman, and preparatory sketches for the engraving. The details of the works were surveyed during the exhibition, opinions were exchanged by specialists from the NMWA and other institutions, and the following was clarified. In spite of the fact that the Ringling work includes some student work in its secondary elements, it is overwhelmingly superior in quality and can be considered an original work by Rubens. The Bass work is probably a studio work based on the Ringling work. The NMWA painting has more stereotyped expression in such areas as the beards and angel wings, sections that would have allowed a master's talents to shine, and thus it is thought that the NMWA work is a studio work created under the direction of Rubens. However, in many areas the NMWA work differs from the Ringling painting. Thus, while not yet confirmed, the theory regarding the NMWA work that has the greatest support today is R-A. d'Hulst's view that this painting was from the earliest period of Jacob Jordaens, a young collaborator of Rubens, particularly based on the vigorous depiction of the bodies and the cool, pale lavender tones used in the work. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 28)
Provenance
Lewis & Son, London; Auc. Christie's, London, 29. 7. 1937, lot no. 80; E. Lübbert, München (long-term loan to the Martin-von-Wagner-Museum der Universität Würzburg); Purchased by the NMWA, 1978.
Exhibition History
- 1933
- Rubens-tentoonstelling, Kunsthandel J. Goudstikker, Amsterdam, 0 August 1933 - 0 September 1933, cat. no. 1
- 1965
- Le siècle de Rubens, Musée Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussel, 15 October 1965 - 12 December 1965, cat. no. 181, repr.
- 1968
- Weltkunst aus Privatbesitz (Ausstellung der Kölner Museen), Kunsthalle, Köln, 18 May 1968 - 4 August 1968, cat. no. F29. fig. 16
- 1993
- The Flight of Lot and his Family from Sodom: Rubens and his Workshop, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 13 July 1993 - 29 August 1993, cat. no. 3
- 2018
- Rubens and the Birth of the Baroque, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 16 October 2018 - 20 January 2019, cat. no. 69
Bibliography
- 1830
- Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters. part 2, London, 1830, no. 826.
- 1928
- Glück, G. Sammlung S. del Monte. Wien, 1928, no. 6.
- 1935
- Glück, G. in Thieme-Becker-Künstlerlexikon. Bd. 29. 1935, p. 142.
- 1940
- Van den Wijngaert, Frank. Inventaris der Rubeniaansche prentkunst. Antwerpen, de Sikkel, 1940, no. 708.
- 1947
- Goris, Jan-Albert; Held, Julius S. Rubens in America. Antwerpen, Standaard Boekhandel, 1947, no. 36.
- 1966
- Gerson, Horst. Das Jahrhundert von Rubens. Kunstchronik, 19. Jg. Heft 3, März 1966, pp. 58, 61.
- 1967
- Cabanne, Pierre. Rubens. Bernard, Oliver, trans. London, Thames and Hudson, 1967, p. 186.
- 1968
- Evers, H. G. in Kindlers Malerei-Lexikon. Bd. 5, 1968, p. 163, col. repr., p. 161.
- 1969
- Ragaller, H. Martin-von-Wagner-Museum der Universität Würzburg, Neuere Abteilung: Verzeichnis der Gemälde und Skulpturen. Würzburg, 1969, p. 45.
- 1977
- Liess, Reinhard. Die Kunst des Rubens. Braunschweig, Waisenhaus-Buchdruckerei und Verl., 1977, p. 355.
- 1979
- Hubala, Erich. "Figurenerfindung und Bildform bei Rubens, Beiträge zum Thema: Rubens als Erzähler". Rubens: Kunstgeschichtliche Beiträge. Hubala, E.rich, ed. Konstanz, L. Leonhardt, 1979, pp. 176-178, 274, Abb. 69.
- 1979
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 252 (as the work by Rubens).
- 1980
- Annual Bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. No. 13 (1978), 1980, Koshi, Koichi. New Acquisitions (Painting). pp. 8-13, New Acquisitions (Catalogue). pp. 26-28, repr.
- 1989
- Kobayashi-Sato, Yoriko. Catalogue of Dutch and Flemish Paintings in Japan I. Annual Report Bridgestone Museum of Art & Ishibashi Museum of Art. no. 37 (1988), 1989, p. 54, no. 34, repr.
- 1994
- Nakamura, Toshiharu, ed. Rubens and His Workshop: The Flight of Lot and His Family from Sodom. Tokyo, the National Museum of Western Art, 1994
- 1996
- Yukiyama, Koji. Regarding the Reattribution of the Museum's the Flight of Lot and his Family from Sodom. Annual bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. Nos. 27-28 (April 1992-March 1994), 1996, p. 65.
- 2006
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 28, col. repr.
- 2009
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 28, col. repr.
- 2013
- Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 42, col. repr.
- 2013
- Rubens: Inspired by Italy and Established in Antwerp (exh. cat). The Bunkamura Museum of Art, 9 March-21 April 2013. Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, 28 April-16 June 2013. The Niigata Prefectural Museum Of Modern Art, Nagaoka, 29 June-11 August 2013. [Tokyo], The Mainichi Newspapers, 2013, pp. 166-167.
- 2018
- Rubens and the Birth of the Baroque (exh. cat.). Lo Bianco, Anna; Watanabe Shinsuke, eds. Tokyo, TBS Television, 2018, pp. 196-197, 291, cat. no. 69, col. repr.
- 2018
- Kofuku, Akira. Catalogue of Dutch and Flemish Paintings, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. [Tokyo], The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo; The Western Art Foundation, 2018, pp. 82-85, no. 21, col. repr.