Art print by Zunuzin

The Return of the Prodigal Son (Rembrandt van Rijn Improvisation)

$499.00
 
Original painting artwork description:
Year created: 2006
The original artwork is oil painting on canvas, size 62.2x47.2 in (158x120 cm), and is available for sale. Buy original on Singulart

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History of the Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt van Rijn - The Return of the Prodigal Son

Rembrandt van Rijn
"The return of the prodigal son", ca. 1668
St. Petersburg, Hermitage

Rembrandt's final word is given in his monumental painting of the Return of the Prodigal Son. Here he interprets the Christian idea of mercy with an extraordinary solemnity, as though this were his spiritual testament to the world. It goes beyond the works of all other Baroque artists in the evocation of religious mood and human sympathy. The aged artist's power of realism is not diminished, but increased by psychological insight and spiritual awareness. Expressive lighting and colouring and the magic suggestiveness of his technique, together with a selective simplicity of setting, help us to feel the full impact of the event.

The main group of the father and the Prodigal Son stands out in light against an enormous dark surface. Particularly vivid are the ragged garment of the son, and the old man's sleeves, which are ochre tinged with golden olive; the ochre colour combined with an intense scarlet red in the father's cloak forms an unforgettable colouristic harmony. The observer is roused to a feeling of some extraordinary event. The son, ruined and repellent, with his bald head and the appearance of an outcast, returns to his father's house after long wanderings and many vicissitudes. He has wasted his heritage in foreign lands and has sunk to the condition of a swineherd. His old father, dressed in rich garments, as are the assistant figures, has hurried to meet him before the door and receives the long-lost son with the utmost fatherly love. Via

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22.8x48 in (58x122 cm), archival pigment print on canvas, signed by author, limited edition of 100