The Departure of Lot and His Family from Sodom 

Peter Paul Rubens created *The Departure of Lot and His Family from Sodom* using oil paint on canvas, a technique perfected during the Renaissance. Rubens, a master of the Baroque style, emphasizes the materiality of flesh and fabric, rendering them in rich, glowing colors, with dramatic light. The angel’s robes billow with a life of their own, and the skin of Lot’s daughters has a palpable softness. The scene is fraught with tension, and yet rendered with opulent, sensual detail. It's not hard to imagine Rubens, in his studio, surrounded by assistants who helped prepare these paints and canvases. Rubens’s workshop was run like a factory, producing art for wealthy patrons, on a grand scale. His paintings celebrate prosperity and the good life, but they are also testaments to the division of labor, and the burgeoning capitalism of his era. Thinking about the painting in this way helps us appreciate not only Rubens's skill, but also the social context in which it was made.