“Lot and Family fleeing Sodom” by Raphael

“Lot and Family fleeing Sodom” by Raphael

c.1742

Engraving

The tragic biblical narrative “Lot and Family fleeing Sodom” unfolds across this 18th-century copperplate engraving, which replicates a celebrated fresco composition designed by the High Renaissance master Raphael. The central scene illustrates the bearded patriarch Lot hurriedly leading his two daughters away from a burning landscape, while a massive cloud of dark smoke and fire erupts from the crumbling towers of Sodom in the background. Trailing closely behind the family group is Lot's wife, whose body has famously frozen and transformed into a rigid pillar of salt as punishment for looking back at the destruction. A wide, architectural border frames the central window, decorated with symmetrical grotteschi elements including repeating garlands, stylized birds, and classical sphinxes along the base. The Latin text banner along the bottom quotes Genesis 19, reading "DEDUCTO LOT CUM UXORE ET FILIABVS PLVIT DNS SUPER SODOMAM SULPHUR ET IGNEM RESPICIENSQ. UXOR POST SE VERSA EST IN STATUAM SALIS Gen. XIX." The lower margins attribute the original fresco layout to Raphael on the left ("Raph. Sanct. pinx.") and the plate engraving to Antonio Regona on the right ("Ant. Regona sculp.").

This engraving reflects the profound 18th-century European fascination with classical antiquity and the visual reconstruction of ancient literary figures. Created during a period when aristocratic collectors and scholars eagerly built expansive libraries of historical prints, this work showcases the sophisticated collaborative printmaking networks of Italy. Artists like Francesco de Grado specialized in translating classical narratives into accessible, highly detailed two-dimensional portraits that blended historical armor studies with allegorical landscapes. Prints like this hold significant historical importance because they served a dual purpose, functioning both as high-status decorative art for grand European estates and as vital academic reference tools used by Enlightenment-era scholars to study classical mythology, literature, and design.

Dimensions: H 13” x 17 ½” W

Condition: In very good condition, tape on back