Return of the Prodigal Son artist. Return of the Prodigal Son

A feeling of boundless joy and love captured the father entirely; in fact, he does not even hug his son, since he no longer has the strength and his hand for this...

A feeling of boundless joy and love captured the father entirely; in fact, he does not even hug his son, since he no longer has the strength to do this and his hands are not capable of hugging his son to himself. He simply feels him, thereby forgiving and protecting him. Art critic M. Alpatov considers the father to be the main character of the painting, and the prodigal son is only an excuse for the father to show his generosity. He even thinks that the painting could be called “Father Forgiving prodigal son».

Self-portrait by Rembrandt Harmes van Rijn (c. 1665)

From Nadezhda Ionina’s book “100 Great Paintings”

While working on the painting “The Night Watch,” Rembrandt’s beloved wife Saskia died. The relatives of the deceased began to pursue the artist with litigation over the inheritance, trying to snatch part of the dowry bequeathed to Rembrandt by Saskia. But it was not only relatives who persecuted Rembrandt. He was always besieged by creditors, who attacked the great artist like a greedy pack. And in general, Rembrandt was never surrounded by honors, was never the center of general attention, did not sit in the front row, not a single poet during Rembrandt’s lifetime sang his praises. At official celebrations, on days of great celebrations, they forgot about him. And he did not love and avoided those who neglected him. His usual and beloved company consisted of shopkeepers, townspeople, peasants, artisans - the simplest people. He loved to visit the port taverns, where sailors, ragpickers, traveling actors, petty thieves and their girlfriends had fun. He happily sat there for hours, watching the bustle and sometimes sketching interesting faces, which he later transferred to his canvases.

Now the Museum is located in the Amsterdam house where the great Rembrandt lived for more than 20 years. And once this house was sold for debts. Rembrandt himself then sat at the court hearing with such an indifferent look, as if this matter did not concern him at all. He did not hear the judge's speeches or the shouts of the creditors. His thoughts hovered so far from the meeting that he either could not answer one or another question from the judge, or his answers had no connection with the court case.

It was the turn of van der Piet, the artist’s lawyer, to speak. Slowly and expressively he outlined the state of affairs. Intelligently, cautiously and zealously defending Rembrandt's behavior, he appealed to human feelings creditors and to the judge's sense of fairness. He threw out convincing, caustic and passionate words: “Let those who, in the name of insignificant ones, burn with shame sums of money, who do not threaten them with the slightest loss or misfortune, want to make Rembrandt a beggar! I, van der Piet, speak here not only as the debtor’s lawyer, I speak on behalf of all humanity, which wants to avert undeserved blows of fate from one of his great sons... equal to Shakespeare! Think about it, everyone who is here - we will be covered with burial mounds, we will disappear from the memory of our descendants, and the name of Rembrandt will thunder over the world for centuries to come, and his shining works will be the pride of the whole earth!

Yes, Rembrandt's paintings are undoubtedly the pinnacle Dutch painting, and in the work of the artist himself, one of these peaks was the painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son.” He painted it in the last year of his life, when he was already old, poor, terminally ill and frail, living in hunger and cold. And yet, in defiance of fate, he wrote, wrote and wrote in the country and city that he glorified forever.

Return of the Prodigal Son Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn 1669

The theme for the painting was the famous gospel parable, which tells how, after long wanderings around the world, the prodigal son returned with unfulfilled hopes to the father he had abandoned. This story attracted many artists long before Rembrandt. The Renaissance masters saw the reconciliation of a father with a disobedient son as a beautiful and entertaining spectacle. Thus, in the painting by the Venetian artist Bonifacio, the action takes place in front of a rich estate, in front of a crowded, dressed-up crowd. Dutch artists They were more attracted to the trials that the rebellious son was subjected to in a foreign land (for example, the scene when a degenerate dissolute man in a barnyard among pigs was ready to atone for his sins with pious prayer).

Rembrandt was haunted by the theme of the “prodigal son” for many years of his life. He turned to this subject back in 1636, when he was working on an etching under the same name. In his paintings on biblical and evangelical subjects, the artist rarely depicted scenes of passion or miracles; he was more attracted to stories about the everyday life of people, especially scenes from the patriarchal family life. The story of the prodigal son was first depicted by Rembrandt in an engraving in which he transferred the biblical story to a Dutch setting and depicted the son as a bony, half-naked creature. The drawing also dates back to this time, in which the father energetically squeezes the shaggy head of his repentant son with his hand: even in the moment of reconciliation, he wants to show his paternal power.

Rembrandt returned to this theme many times, and over the years he presented it differently each time. In early versions, the son vigorously expresses his repentance and submission. In a series of later drawings, the spiritual impulses of father and son are not so naked, the element of edification disappears. Subsequently, Rembrandt began to be fascinated by the almost accidental meeting of an old father and son, in which the forces human love and forgiveness is only just ready to open up. Sometimes it was a lonely old man sitting in a spacious room, his unlucky son kneeling before him. Sometimes it is an old man going out into the street, where an unexpected meeting awaits him; or his son comes up to him and squeezes him tightly in his arms.

After 30 years, the artist creates a less detailed, narrative composition, in which the emphasis is shifted to the old father. The plot of the painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son” is not directly related to the previous sketches, but it was in it that Rembrandt put all his creative experience and perhaps the most important of life experience. Rembrandt thoughtfully read the biblical story, but he was not a simple illustrator who strives to accurately reproduce the text. He got used to the parable as if he himself had witnessed what had happened, and this gave him the right to complete what was unsaid.

Several people gathered on a small area in front of the house. Tattered, beggarly, in rags belted with rope, with a convict’s shaved head, the prodigal son stands on his knees and hides his face on the old man’s chest. Overwhelmed by shame and remorse, he, perhaps for the first time in many years, felt the warmth of a human embrace. And the father, bending over to the “tramp”, presses him to himself with careful tenderness. His senile, unsteady hands lie tenderly on his son’s back. This minute in its own way psychological state equal to eternity, before both of them pass the years they spent without each other and brought so much mental anguish. It seems that suffering has already broken them so much that the joy of meeting did not bring relief.

The meeting of father and son takes place as if at the junction of two spaces: in the distance one can discern a porch and behind it a cozy father’s house. In front of the picture there is implied and invisibly present the boundless space of roads traveled by the son, an alien world that turned out to be hostile to him. The figures of father and son form a closed group; under the influence of the feelings that gripped them, they seemed to merge into one. Towering over his kneeling son, the father touches him with soft hand movements. His face, hands, posture - everything speaks of peace and happiness found after for long years painful waiting. The father's forehead seems to radiate light, and this is the brightest place in the picture. Nothing breaks the concentrated silence. Those present watch the meeting between father and son with intense attention. Among them stands out the man standing on the right in a red cloak, whose figure seems to connect the main characters with the people around them. The person standing behind is also closely watching what is happening. His gaze is wide open eyes suggests that he, too, was imbued with the importance and seriousness of the moment. A woman standing at a distance looks at the father and son with sincere sympathy. It's hard to say who these people are. Perhaps Rembrandt did not strive for individual characteristics present, since they serve only as an addition to the main group.

Rembrandt searched for a long time and persistently for the figure of the prodigal son; the prodigal son is already visible in the prototypes of numerous drawings and sketches. In the picture he is almost the only one in classical painting a hero who has completely turned his back on the audience. The young man traveled a lot, experienced and experienced a lot: his head is covered with scabs, his shoes are worn out. One of them falls off his foot, and the viewer sees his hardened heel. He barely reached the threshold of his father's house and fell to his knees in exhaustion. A rough shoe falling off his foot speaks eloquently of how long the path had been traveled and what humiliations he had been subjected to. The viewer does not have the opportunity to see his face, but following the prodigal son, he also seems to enter the picture and falls to his knees.

The main difference between Rembrandt van Rijn's work is its timeless nature. Historically dating back to the heyday of the Dutch painting XVII century, it does not allow us to detect a clear connection to it either in terms of the themes addressed in the paintings or in artistic means, with the help of which he reveals these topics. This property of Rembrandt’s painting matures over the course of the master’s life, reaching its maximum towards the end of it.

“The Return of the Prodigal Son” is a painting that is considered to be a testament genius artist. Art historians usually date it to 1663, the year of the maestro’s death. The scale of the philosophical content of this plot and the picturesque sound of the canvas reach a truly cosmic scale.

Eternal plot

He was interested primarily in the depths of human nature, the motives of people's actions. Therefore, it is understandable why Rembrandt painted on biblical stories much more often than their contemporaries. The parable of the prodigal son is one of the most popular subjects in world painting. “The Return of the Prodigal Son” is a painting that has its own intrinsic value, but it is also a continuation of the conversation. They had their own interpretations of the parable Hieronymus Bosch, Albrecht Durer, Murillo and many other masters different countries and generations.

Rembrandt himself refers to this subject more than once - his etchings with the title “The Prodigal Son” are known. Discussions on this topic are found by researchers of Rembrandt’s work even in such a famous master’s work as “Self-Portrait with Saskia on her Knees” (1635). This is also a kind of “Return of the Prodigal Son” - a picture that they interpret as an illustration of that part of the parable that tells about the extravagance of a son who thoughtlessly spends his father’s inheritance. From this point of view, the joy of existence that radiates from the master’s paintings, painted during the happiest periods of his life, is complemented by a slightly different shade.

Painter not of life, but of spirit

The originality is also explained by his purely pictorial techniques, the use of a palette, and work with light and shadow. If the majority of the “little Dutch” and artists in tune with them are characterized by the desire for an accurate and tangible depiction of things, the expression of their material essence, then in Rembrandt objects emerge from non-existence or “from the darkness of the past,” being in close connection with the passage of time, with history. By painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” Rembrandt confirmed his fidelity to the special atmosphere unique to him, which highlights the main thing on the canvas without depriving any important detail of light.

And this is not just a virtuoso play by the “master of chiaroscuro,” as historians and experts on his work call the brilliant Dutchman. This is an unnecessary designation of the primacy for him of the internal content of human actions, the search for their motivating reasons. Where does the essence of man come from, who created it, and how does what defines being change? The fact that he poses such questions and offers his answers, not related to the time in which he lived, neither internal nor external attributes, Rembrandt shows that he is modern and always relevant.

“The Return of the Prodigal Son”: description

His painting style is a means of creating a narrative, telling stories, which no other artist has possessed at all times. As Rembrandt tells it ancient parable about returning home?

...We are present during the pause that occurred after the son approached the threshold of his father’s house. This pause is not silent - it rings... After all, too much has been lost - his head is shaved, like a convict’s, his shoes are worn out, he has neither the strength nor the means to achieve anything, nor even desires and ambitions. A terrible ending to unfulfilled hopes. The father comes out and simply puts his hands on his son’s shoulders, and he falls down, almost disappearing into the folds of his clothes. “The Return of the Prodigal Son” is a picture about the completion of all earthly paths, where at the end there will be a golden ray, similar to the one that illuminated those who met, illuminated one of the most outstanding Rembrandt images - the head of the father. This ray is the mercy that all the lost should hope for.

Questions and answers

Like his other masterpieces, Rembrandt endows “The Return of the Prodigal Son” with many mysteries and secrets. Perhaps they appeared simply because of a long temporary distance, and at the time the painting was painted, it was clear to the audience, for example, who the other characters in the canvas were, why they looked at the newcomer so differently, with such different feelings. Why are the father's hands lying on his son's shoulders so strikingly different from each other?

With the passage of time, much has been lost, and most secrets have simply lost their meaning. Indeed, is it really important, in the end, what kind of family relationships the people present on the canvas have? Are they important? social status or financial condition? Now they are all simply witnesses to an exciting event - a meeting after a long separation of two loved ones, witnesses to the act of forgiveness, on which the Christian worldview is largely based.

For all time

Rembrandt van Rijn... "The Return of the Prodigal Son" is a painting that is almost literally repeated in the finale famous film Andrei Arsenievich Tarkovsky's "Solaris", released in 1972.

Images born many centuries earlier turn out to be the most suitable for expressing the feelings experienced by main character film - Chris Kelvin, returning to his native threshold from a star system located millions of kilometers away...

Return of the Prodigal Son, ca. 1666-69

"Return of the Prodigal Son" - famous painting Rembrandt based on the New Testament parable of the Prodigal Son.

A certain man had two sons; and the youngest of them said to his father: Father! give me the next part of the estate. And the father divided the estate for them. After a few days younger son Having collected everything, he went to the far side and there he squandered his property, living dissolutely. When he had lived through everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need; and he went and accosted one of the inhabitants of that country, and he sent him to his fields to graze pigs; and he was glad to fill his belly with the horns that the pigs ate, but no one gave it to him. When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have an abundance of bread, but I am dying of hunger; I will get up and go to my father and say to him: Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you and am no longer worthy to be called your son; accept me as one of your hired servants.
He got up and went to his father. And while he was still far away, his father saw him and had compassion; and, running, fell on his neck and kissed him. The son said to him: Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you and am no longer worthy to be called your son. And the father said to his servants: bring best clothes and clothe him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fatted calf, and kill it; Let's eat and have fun! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found. And they started having fun.
His eldest son was in the field; and returning, when he approached the house, he heard singing and rejoicing; and calling one of the servants, he asked: what is this? He said to him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he received him healthy.” He became angry and did not want to enter. His father came out and called him. But he answered his father: Behold, I have served you for so many years and have never violated your orders, but you never gave me even a kid so that I could have fun with my friends; and when this son of yours, who had wasted his wealth with harlots, came, you killed the fatted calf for him. He said to him: My son! You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours, and it was necessary to rejoice and be glad that this brother of yours was dead and came to life, was lost and was found.

Luke 15:11-32

The plot of the picture

The painting depicts the final episode of the parable, when the prodigal son returns home, “and while he was still far away, his father saw him and had compassion; and, running, fell on his neck and kissed him,” and his elder righteous brother, who remained with his father, became angry and did not want to enter.

Description

Exactly this large canvas Rembrandt on religious theme. Unlike his predecessors Durer and Luke of Leiden, who depicted the prodigal son feasting either in dissolute company or with pigs, Rembrandt focused on the essence of the parable - the meeting of father and son and forgiveness.

Several people gathered on a small area in front of the house. On the left side of the picture a kneeling prodigal son is depicted with his back to the viewer. His face is not visible, his head is written in profil perdu. The father gently touches his son's shoulders, hugging him. Painting - classic example compositions where the main thing is strongly shifted from the central axis of the picture for the most accurate disclosure of the main idea of ​​the work. “Rembrandt highlights the main thing in the picture with light, focusing our attention on it. The compositional center is located almost at the edge of the picture. The artist balances the composition with the figure of his eldest son standing on the right. Placing the main semantic center at one third of the distance in height corresponds to the law of the golden ratio, which artists have used since ancient times to achieve the greatest expressiveness of their creations.”

The prodigal son's head, shaved like a convict's, and his tattered clothes indicate his fall. The collar retains a hint of past luxury. The shoes are worn out, and a touching detail is that one fell when the son knelt down. In the depths one can discern a porch and behind it one’s father’s house. The master placed the main figures at the junction of the pictorial and real spaces (later the canvas was placed at the bottom, but according to the author’s plan, its lower edge was at the level of the toes of the kneeling son). “The depth of space is conveyed by the consistent weakening of light and shadow and color contrasts, starting from the foreground. In fact, it is built by the figures of witnesses to the scene of forgiveness, gradually dissolving into the twilight.” “We have a decentralized composition with main group(the event node) on the left and a caesura separating it from the group of witnesses to the event on the right. The event causes the participants in the scene to react differently. The plot is built according to the “response” compositional scheme.”

Minor characters

In addition to father and son, the picture depicts 4 more characters. These are dark silhouettes that are difficult to distinguish against a dark background, but who they are remains a mystery. Some called them the protagonist's "brothers and sisters." It is characteristic that Rembrandt avoids conflict: the parable talks about jealousy obedient son, and the harmony of the picture is not disturbed in any way.

Hermitage employee Irina Linnik believes that Rembrandt’s canvas has a prototype in a woodcut by Cornelis Antonissen (1541), in which a kneeling son and father are also depicted surrounded by figures. But on the engraving these figures are inscribed - Faith, Hope, Love, Repentance and Truth. In the heavens, the engraving reads "God" in Greek, Hebrew and Latin. An X-ray of the Hermitage painting showed the initial similarity of Rembrandt’s painting with the details of the mentioned engraving. However, a direct analogy cannot be drawn - the picture has only a vague resemblance to one of Antonissen’s allegories (the farthest and almost disappearing in the darkness), which resembles an allegory of Love, and, in addition, has a red medallion in the shape of a heart. Perhaps this is an image of the mother of the prodigal son.

The two figures in the background, located in the center (apparently female, perhaps a maid or another personified allegory; and male), are more difficult to guess. The sitting young man with a mustache, if you follow the plot of the parable, may be the second, obedient brother. There is speculation that in fact the second brother is the previous “female” figure hugging the column. Moreover, perhaps this is not just a column - in shape it resembles the pillar of the Jerusalem Temple and may well symbolize the pillar of the Law, and the fact that the righteous brother is hiding behind it takes on a symbolic meaning.

The researchers' attention is drawn to the figure of the last witness, located on the right side of the picture. It plays an important role in the composition and is written almost as brightly as the main characters. His face expresses sympathy, and the traveling cloak he is wearing and the staff in his hands suggest that he, like the prodigal son, is a lonely wanderer. Israeli researcher Galina Luban believes that this image is associated with the figure of the Eternal Jew. According to other assumptions, he is the eldest son, which does not coincide with the age description of the New Testament character, although he is also bearded and dressed like his father. However, this rich clothing is also a refutation of the version, since according to the Gospel, having heard about the return of his brother, he came running straight from the field, where, most likely, he was in work clothes. Some researchers see in this figure a self-portrait of Rembrandt himself.

There is also a version that the two figures on the right side of the picture: a young man in a beret and a standing man are the same father and son who are depicted on the other half, but only before the prodigal son leaves the house towards revelry. Thus, the canvas seems to combine two chronological plans. It has been suggested that these two figures are an image of the publican and the Pharisee from the gospel parable.

In profile in the form of a bas-relief with right side From the standing witness, a musician is depicted playing the flute. His figure perhaps recalls the music that, in a few moments, will fill his father’s house with sounds of joy.

Circumstances of creation

This is not the artist’s only work on this subject, although he created works with a different composition. In 1636 he created an etching, and in 1642 a drawing (Teyler Museum in Haarlem).

In 1635, he created the painting “Self-Portrait with Saskia on her Knees,” which reflected an episode of the legend about the prodigal son squandering his father’s inheritance.

The circumstances surrounding the painting are mysterious. It is believed to have been written in the last year of the artist’s life. Changes and corrections to the original concept of the painting, noticeable on the x-ray, indicate the authenticity of the canvas.

The traditional dating of 1668-1669, however, is considered controversial by some. Art historians G. Gerson and I. Linnik proposed dating the painting to 1661 or 1663.

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The painting depicts the final episode of the parable, when the prodigal son returns home, “and while he was still far away, his father saw him and had compassion; and, running, fell on his neck and kissed him,” and his elder righteous brother, who remained with his father, became angry and did not want to enter.

The plot attracted the attention of Rembrandt's famous predecessors: Durer, Bosch, Luke of Leiden, Rubens.

Description

This is Rembrandt's largest painting on a religious theme.

Several people gathered on a small area in front of the house. On the left side of the picture a kneeling prodigal son is depicted with his back to the viewer. His face is not visible, his head is written in profile perdu. The father gently touches his son's shoulders, hugging him. The painting is a classic example of a composition where the main thing is strongly shifted from the central axis of the picture in order to most accurately reveal the main idea of ​​the work. “Rembrandt highlights the main thing in the picture with light, focusing our attention on it. The compositional center is located almost at the edge of the picture. The artist balances the composition with the figure of his eldest son standing on the right. The placement of the main semantic center at one third of the distance in height corresponds to the law of the golden ratio, which has been used by artists since ancient times to achieve the greatest expressiveness of their creations.”

The prodigal son's head, shaved like a convict's, and his tattered clothes indicate his fall. The collar retains a hint of past luxury. The shoes are worn out, and a touching detail is that one fell when the son knelt down. In the depths one can discern a porch and behind it one’s father’s house. The master placed the main figures at the junction of the pictorial and real spaces (later the canvas was placed at the bottom, but according to the author’s plan, its lower edge was at the level of the toes of the kneeling son). “The depth of space is conveyed by a consistent weakening of light and shadow and color contrasts, starting from the foreground. In fact, it is built by the figures of witnesses to the scene of forgiveness, gradually dissolving into the twilight.” “Before us is a decentralized composition with the main group (event node) on the left and a caesura separating it from the group of witnesses to the event on the right. The event causes the participants in the scene to react differently. The plot is built according to the “response” compositional scheme.”

Minor characters

In addition to father and son, the picture depicts 4 more characters. These are dark silhouettes that are difficult to distinguish against a dark background, but who they are remains a mystery. Some called them the protagonist's "brothers and sisters." It is characteristic that Rembrandt avoids conflict: the parable speaks of the jealousy of an obedient son, and the harmony of the picture is not disturbed in any way.

Hermitage employee Irina Linnik believes that Rembrandt’s canvas has a prototype in a woodcut by Cornelis Antonissen (1541), in which a kneeling son and father are also depicted surrounded by figures. But on the engraving these figures are inscribed - Faith, Hope, Love, Repentance and Truth. In the heavens, the engraving reads "God" in Greek, Hebrew and Latin. An X-ray of the Hermitage painting showed the initial similarity of Rembrandt’s painting with the details of the mentioned engraving. However, a direct analogy cannot be drawn - the picture has only a vague resemblance to one of Antonissen’s allegories (the farthest and almost disappearing in the darkness), which resembles an allegory of Love, and, in addition, has a red medallion in the shape of a heart. Perhaps this is an image of the mother of the prodigal son.

The two figures in the background, located in the center (apparently female, perhaps a maid or another personified allegory; and male), are more difficult to guess. The sitting young man with a mustache, if you follow the plot of the parable, may be the second, obedient brother. There is speculation that in fact the second brother is the previous “female” figure hugging the column. Moreover, perhaps this is not just a column - in shape it resembles the pillar of the Jerusalem Temple and may well symbolize the pillar of the Law, and the fact that the righteous brother is hiding behind it takes on a symbolic meaning.

The researchers' attention is drawn to the figure of the last witness, located on the right side of the picture. She plays an important role in the composition and is written almost as vividly as the main characters. His face expresses sympathy, and the traveling cloak he is wearing and the staff in his hands suggest that he, like the prodigal son, is a lonely wanderer. Israeli researcher Galina Luban believes that this image is associated with the figure of the Eternal Jew. According to other assumptions, he is the eldest son, which does not coincide with the age description of the New Testament character, although he is also bearded and dressed like his father. However, this rich clothing is also a refutation of the version, since according to the Gospel, having heard about the return of his brother, he came running straight from the field, where, most likely, he was in work clothes. Some researchers see in this figure a self-portrait of Rembrandt himself.

There is also a version that the two figures on the right side of the picture: a young man in a beret and a standing man are the same father and son who are depicted on the other half, but only before the prodigal son leaves the house towards revelry. Thus, the canvas seems to combine two chronological plans. It has been suggested that these two figures are a representation of the publican and the Pharisee from the gospel parable.

In profile, in the form of a bas-relief, on the right side of the standing witness, a musician is depicted playing the flute. His figure perhaps recalls the music that, in a few moments, will fill his father’s house with sounds of joy.

Story

Circumstances of creation

This is not the artist’s only work on this subject. In 1635, he painted the painting “The Prodigal Son in a Tavern (Self-Portrait with Saskia on His Lap),” which reflected an episode of the legend about the prodigal son squandering his father’s inheritance. In 1636, Rembrandt created an etching, and in 1642 a drawing (Taylor Museum in Haarlem).

The circumstances surrounding the painting are mysterious. It is believed to have been written in last years life of an artist. Changes and corrections to the original concept of the painting, noticeable on the x-ray photograph, indicate the authenticity of the canvas.

The dating of 1666-1669 is considered controversial by some. Art historians G. Gerson and I. Linnik proposed dating the painting to 1661 or 1663.

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