Lot and His Daughters [reverse]

Art Historical Context

Albrecht Dürer’s *Lot and His Daughters* (c. 1496/1499) captures a dramatic biblical scene from Genesis, in which Lot’s daughters ensure the survival of their family after the destruction of Sodom. Painted in oil on panel during the artist’s early maturity, the work reflects the Northern Renaissance interest in moral storytelling combined with precise observation of the human figure and landscape. Measuring just over 20 by 16 inches, the modest panel size suggests it may have formed part of a diptych or devotional object; the title’s reference to the “reverse” indicates it originally shared its support with another composition. Dürer’s characteristic attention to texture and light is evident even in this compact format, demonstrating how he adapted Italian Renaissance ideas to the detailed, luminous style of German painting. Now in the National Gallery of Art’s Samuel H. Kress Collection, the painting offers visitors a glimpse of Dürer’s evolving mastery at the close of the fifteenth century, when biblical narratives served both as spiritual lessons and showcases for artistic skill.

About the Artist

Albrecht Dürer · 1471–1528

Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) stands as the preeminent figure of the Northern Renaissance and arguably the most influential artist in the history of printmaking. Born in Nuremberg on May 21, 1471, and dying in the same city on April 6, 1528, Dürer revolutionized the status of the artist in Northern Europe, transforming printmaking from a commercial craft into an independent fine art and establishing ...