Rembrandt van Rijn
Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam, attributed
The Departure of the Prodigal Son
Oil on wood
24 x 28 cm, with frame 53 x 60 cm
HdG 112c
Provenance: Auction M. P. D. Baron van Sijtzama u. A. in Leeuwarden on 13 June 1849 No. 117. In private German ownership since the mid-19th century.

This work depicts the Departure of the Prodigal Son. The parable told by Jesus from the Gospel of Luke (15:11-32) is about the younger son who receives his demanded inheritance, departs, and spends all the money. He becomes a beggar and returns in repentance to ask his father to give him a job as a labourer. However, the father is so pleased to see him again that he takes his son back in. The older son complains about his father's decision, but the father explains to him that his youngest son is lost and has now been found. As the last of the three parables of the " lost ones", Jesus draws a parallel here to the "sinners", who the youngest son embodies, and the critics, who the older son represents, with God taking on the role of the father who turns to the lost ones.

The scene shows the younger son on horseback in the right-hand side, casting a last glance at his parents on the left-hand before riding away. A large estate in an idyllic landscape is shown, with the open fence emphasising his departure. Another male figure, presumably the elder son, is standing in one of the doors, looking after his brother. Their parents are richly dressed, with the father pointing to his son with an imploring gesture and at the same time supporting his wife, who is holding a cloth to her face in an expression of grief. The younger son, also lavishly dressed, is already riding off, but has turned back and raised his hat as if in a final salute. In the cautious movement of the rider and the hands of father and son visually linked by the fence, the viewers can already discern the end of the parable: that the son will return and be welcomed by his father with open arms.

The work is cited by C. Hofstede de Groot as an authentic work by Rembrandt van Rijn. However, the problem of attribution is well known in art historical research; paintings once attributed to the artist were later recognised as works produced by the master's workshop. As it is difficult to distinguish between Rembrandt's own paintings and those by his pupils, the "Rembrandt Research Project", founded in 1968, is dedicated to analysing these works. Based on this history and the provenance, this painting could possibly be a work by this important Dutch Baroque painter, who favoured depicting biblical themes, among others. Around 1668, he painted the following event, The Return of the Prodigal Son (Hermitage St. Petersburg, inv. no. ??-742), which is executed in a similar colour scheme, in the brown and red tones favoured by Rembrandt in his later years.

Literature: C. Hofstede de Groot, Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten hollaendischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts, 6th volume, Esslingen/Paris 1915.