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Rutilio Manetti, an outstanding figure of Sienese Baroque painting, painted this work towards the end of his life, in the 1630s. The subject is taken from the Old Testament: Lot entertaining the two angels who arrived to destroy Sodom. Afterwards, the angels helped Lot, his wife and his daughters to escape from the sinful city. The scene has a quiet atmosphere. The depiction, focusing on the virtue of hospitality, has in its centre the still life composition of the richly laid table. The painter clearly took pleasure in minutely depicting the fine glass objects, metal plates, the heavy tablecloth, the various types of food, and the light reflected on them. The composition is based on the equilibrium of the three figures and stands out among the dynamic works of the baroque period that usually strive for a more dramatic effect.
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