Abraham's Parting from the Family of Lot

1655 · Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

religious

For long time it was thought that the painting represents Jacob and Laban. However, in 1987 the subject was identified as Abraham's departure for Canaan, leaving his nephew Lot and his family, who will set off for Sodom. This subject from the Genesis is rarely treated in art.

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Abraham's Parting from the Family of Lot

About the Artist

Jan Victors

1619 – 1676

Dutch painter, one of Rembrandt 's lesser known pupils, who joined Rembrandt's studio around 1635. He was far from being a genius and his life was a hard one. He tried to make a living by giving nurcing assistance to families stricken by the plague, and he died during a voyage to the East Indies where he was hoping to retrieve his fortunes. His style, compared with that of his contemporaries, was coarse, vulgar and declamatory. He based his genre paintings on stories from the Bible, and he also painted humorous conversation pieces.

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