The prodigal son

Unerstand the scene

A young man kneels down before an old man.

The old man is his father; he receives, with warmth and joy, his son who is coming back after a long absence. But if the son’s position shows that he has to be pardoned for something, the father's face and gesture indicate, on the contrary, that the latter receives him with joy, without any reproach. The son’s misunderstanding of the father’s sentiment gives its meaning to the parable.

The father is very old and his clothes show his wealth. Rembrandt turns him into a blind man; which gives more depth to the meeting.

Filled with happiness by the return of his son, the father has a banquet prepared. One can sometimes see the preparations of the feast, in particular a fatted calf ready to be killed.

The son is generally ill-clad, in rags or in a poor man’s shirt. He has left his father with his portion of the heritage but he has lost everything by leading a dissolute life, then he has worked as a pig keeper… His poor clothes explain why some representations introduce a maid or a servant bringing some clean linen.

Another man is coming in the distance, back from the fields; he is the elder son who is going to be jealous of the welcome given to him. He can bring to mind Esau’s return in the scene of Jacob’s benediction (see the Benediction of Jacob).

The parable is rich in images and other moments can also be depicted: the happy son spending his money in the company of prostitutes; the unhappy son repenting while keeping pigs; the father waiting for his son coming back in the distance.

The biblical narrative

The Gospel according to Luke, chapter 15

And he said, A certain man had two sons:

And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. And he divided to them his living.

The son takes his journey to a distant country and spends his portion on loose living. He becomes the keeper of a herd of pigs and suffers from starvation. He thinks about his father’s servants who are well-fed and says to himself

I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you, And am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of your hired servants.

And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight, and am no more worthy to be called your son.

But the father said to his servants, Bring out the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:And bring here the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be merry: For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. And they began to be merry…

But the elder son reproaches his father for this feast.

And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad: for this your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.
 (Luke 15:11-32)

 Comment

This narrative is a parable, or “comparison” in Greek. It is meant to give a lesson thanks to a story and its characters.

Jesus often speaks in parables. (See also The Good Samaritan, Poor Lazarus).

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