The Son Chased out of the Brothel, from The Parable of the Prodigal Son
c. 1600
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 23 × 18.4 cm (9 1/16 × 7 1/4 in.); sheet: 24.5 × 19.4 cm (9 11/16 × 7 11/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
267902
Art Historical Context
In the vivid engraving *The Son Chased out of the Brothel*, from Crispijn van de Passe I series on *The Parable of thedigal Son*, we witness a dramatic moment from the biblical tale in Luke 15. The wayward son, having squandered his inheritance on riotous living, is roughly ejected from a brothel by an angry madam and her staff, his fine clothes torn and his downfall starkly illustrated. Created around 1600 by the renowned Dutch engraver Crispijn van de Passe I (1564–1637), this print captures the moral urgency of the parable, reminding viewers of sin's consequences and redemption's hope durin...
About the Artist
Crispijn van de Passe, I · 1565–1637
Crispijn van de Passe the Elder, born around 1564 in the coastal town of Arnemuiden in Zeeland, emerged as a pivotal figure in Northern European printmaking during a turbulent era. He relocated to Antwerp at a young age, the bustling epicenter of engraving, where he trained and worked from 1580 onward, becoming a member of the Guild of Saint Luke in the 1584–1585 guild year. The Spanish siege and ...