The Prodigal Son
Medium
Etching; early state
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed close to plateline): 20 1/4 × 15 1/16 in. (51.5 × 38.2 cm) Leaf: 28 15/16 × 20 1/2 in. (73.5 × 52 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1925
Accession Number
25.62.51v
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Prodigal Son (1781), a etching in its early state, capturing the biblical parable from Luke 15 where a wayward son returns humbly to his forgiving father amid a rustic landscape teeming with men, cows, and goats. print reproduces a composition by the Baroque master Salvator Rosa (1615–1673), renowned for his dramatic, rugged scenes blending history painting with wild Italianate scenery. Rosa's turbulent style infuses the narrative with emotional intensity, evoking themes of redemption and human frailty that resonated deeply in 17th-century Europe. Crafted by engraver Simon Francis...