The Prodigal Son

Artist: Albercht Durer

When made: 1496

Where made: Nuremberg, Germany

Media: Engraving

Size: 24.6 x 18.8 cm

Where found: www.royalcollection.org.uk

Specific section: Luke 15: 15-17

This is a very powerful piece. The image truly captures the way the younger son was lost as he was begging with the ugly pigs at his feet. In 15: 15-17, the words of him begging are expressed in the face of the picture. The younger son being on his knee with his hands together has him pleading as he came to himself and said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father…” The engraving shows him having an empathy: the animals are having more to eat than him and he could have had more if he had stayed with his father. In the piece, the harsh environment shows why he really wanted to go back to his father. With the image being in black and white, it helps the audience make out the details of the engraving. The facial expressions of all the pigs show how barbaric they are as they crawl over each other and live in the filth. The surroundings of the man and the pigs add onto the fact that everything around him is better off than he is. The buildings have structural support, are very large, have shelter, and are connected to every other building: all of which the younger son doesn’t have.  He is left outside to rot and live like an animal.

Collection, Royal. “Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) – The Prodigal Son.” Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) – The Prodigal Son. 2016. Accessed December 11, 2016. https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/800038/the-prodigal-son.

Sabrina Wieczorek