A. Demkin Painting "The Return of the Prodigal Son" as a Mirror of Life by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn. Rembrandt van Rijn

Plot

According to the parable, one day the son, the youngest in the family, wanted to start independent life and demanded his share of the inheritance. In fact, this symbolized that he wishes his father to die, because the division of property occurs only after the death of the eldest in the family. The young man got what he asked for and left his father's house. Life beyond his means, the deterioration of the economic situation in the country where he ended up, led to the fact that soon the young man squandered everything he had. He faced a choice - death or repentance: “How many hirelings from my father are abundant in bread, and 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 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; accept me as one of your hired hands."

The father, when meeting with his son, ordered to slaughter the best calf and arrange a holiday. At the same time, he utters the phrase, sacramental for all Christianity: “This son of mine was dead and is alive, disappeared and was found.” This is an allegory for the return of lost sinners to the bosom of the church.

"Prodigal Son in a Tavern" (1635). Another name is "Self-portrait with Saskia on her knees."
On the canvas, Rembrandt depicted himself in the role prodigal son squandering his father's inheritance

The eldest son, returning from field work and learning why the holiday was started, was angry: “I have been serving you for so many years and have never violated your orders, but you have never given me even a kid to have fun with my friends; but when this son of yours, who had squandered his possessions with harlots, came, you slaughtered a fattened calf for him.” And although the father called him to mercy, we do not learn from the parable what decision the eldest son makes.

Rembrandt allowed himself to deviate from the classical text. First, he portrayed his father as blind. The text does not explicitly state whether the man was sighted or not, but from the fact that he saw his son from afar, we can conclude that he still had no vision problems.

Secondly, Rembrandt's eldest son is present at the meeting - a tall man on right. In the classic text, he comes when preparations are already in the house for the celebration on the occasion of the return younger brother.

"The Return of the Prodigal Son" (1666−1669)

Thirdly, the meeting itself is described differently. The overjoyed father runs out to meet his son and falls on his knees before him. In Rembrandt we see young man, humbly standing on the ground, and the father, who quietly put his hands on his shoulders. Moreover, one palm looks like a soft, caressing, maternal, and the second - like a strong, holding, paternal.

The eldest son is aloof. His hands are tightly clenched - you can see the internal struggle that takes place in him. Angry at his father, the eldest son must make a choice whether to accept his younger brother or not.

In addition to the main characters, Rembrandt depicted other people on the canvas. Who they are cannot be said for sure. It is possible that these are servants, with the help of which the artist wanted to convey the pre-holiday fuss and bright mood.

Context

The Return of the Prodigal Son is possibly Rembrandt's last painting. Work on it was preceded by a series of losses that stretched for 25 years: from the death of the first, beloved wife Saskia and all the children she gave birth to, to almost complete ruin and the absence of customers.

The rich clothes in which the heroes are depicted were part of the artist's collection. In the 17th century, Holland was the strongest economy in the world. The ships of her merchants seemed to be everywhere - even with Japan there was trade (Japan did not trade with anyone else at that time). Outlandish goods flocked to Dutch ports. The artist regularly walked there and bought unusual fabrics, jewelry, and weapons. All this was then used in the work. Even for self-portraits, Rembrandt dressed up in overseas and tried on new images.

The fate of the artist

Rembrandt was born in Leiden to a wealthy Dutchman who owned a mill. When the boy announced to his father that he intended to become an artist, he supported him - then in Holland it was prestigious and profitable to be an artist. People were ready to be malnourished, but did not skimp on the paintings.

After studying for three years (which was enough to start your own business, as it was then thought) from your uncle - professional artist, - Rembrandt and a friend opened a workshop in Leiden. Although there were orders, they were rather monotonous and did not carry away. Work began to boil after moving to Amsterdam. There he soon met Saskia van Uilenbürch, the daughter of the mayor of Leeuwarden, and without hesitation married.

. The painting that quarreled the artist with all the customers depicted on the canvas

Saskia was his muse, inspiration, light. He painted her portrait in various attire and images. At the same time, she was from a wealthy family, which also allowed them to live in a big way. The latter circumstance irritated Saskia's relatives, the classical Flemings, who could not bear the unbridled life beyond their means. They even sued Rembrandt, accusing him of squandering, but the artist presented, as they would say today, a certificate of income and proved that he and his wife had enough fees for all the whims.

After the death of Saskia, Rembrandt fell into depression for a while, even stopped working. The owner of an already unpleasant character, he became completely merciless to others - he was bilious, stubborn, self-willed and even rude. In many respects, therefore, contemporaries tried not to write anything about Rembrandt - the bad is indecent, but apparently there was no good.

Hendrikje Stoffels (1655)

Gradually, Rembrandt took up arms against almost everyone: customers, creditors, and other artists. A kind of conspiracy developed around him - he was almost purposefully brought to bankruptcy, forcing him to sell his entire collection for next to nothing. Even the house went under the hammer. If it weren’t for the students who developed and helped the master buy simpler housing in the Jewish district, Rembrandt risked staying on the street.

Today we do not even know where the remains of the artist are located. He was buried in the cemetery for the poor. In the funeral procession was only his daughter Cornelia from Hendrikje Stoffels, the third wife (not official, but, one might say, civil). After the death of Rembrandt, Cornelia got married and left for Indonesia. There traces of her family are lost. As for information about Rembrandt himself, over the past decades it has been collected literally bit by bit - during the life of the artist, much was lost, not to mention the fact that no one purposefully conducted his biography.

- The return of the prodigal son. The approximate date of creation is 1666 - 1669. The artist embodied the gigantic idea in oil on canvas measuring 260 × 203 mm. The plot for the picture was the last part of the parable from the Bible, which tells about a lost son who eventually comes to his native threshold and repents before his father. The parent is glad to see a living and unlucky younger offspring, paternally hugs him, and the older brother is angry and does not fit.

It was this imaginary scene that lay on the canvas. The master perfectly conveyed the fatherly feelings and repentance of his son. The young man is depicted kneeling before his parent, pressing his shaved head against his father's body. His clothes are dirty and torn, they bear traces of their former splendor and luxury, but it is clear that the young man fell to the very bottom of human sins and could not rise from there. His feet traveled many paths. This is evidenced by worn-out shoes, they can no longer be called shoes - one shoe simply does not rest on the foot. The face of the son is hidden, the painter depicted him in such a way that the viewer himself guessed what feelings can be displayed on the face young man.

The main figure of the work is the father. His figure is slightly inclined towards his son, with his hands he gently squeezes his son's shoulders, his head is slightly tilted to the left. The whole pose of this old man speaks of the suffering and grief that he experienced all those years while his son was absent from the house. With these movements, he seems to forgive his son, his return to his father is a great joy. The father looks at the kneeling boy and smiles. His face is serene and the old man is happy. Interior corner of the house: carved bas-reliefs, columns; the old man's attire: a red cloak and brocade sleeves in its slits speak of the good prosperity of the house, the wealth and dignity of those gathered here.

With the remaining four figures, the experts did not figure it out to the end. Versions vary greatly. One of the assumptions is that a seated young man with a mustache and a smart hat adorned with a feather is the elder brother of the prodigal. Perhaps so, since his facial expression speaks of condemnation and he does not participate in the reconciliation of relatives.

The most distant figure is considered female - a barely visible girl in a headscarf standing on the steps could be a servant in her father's house. A man standing next to a penitent is holding a staff, he is wearing a cloak, he has a long beard, and a turban is on his head. His whole appearance suggests that he can be the same wanderer, but more intelligent and demanding in his own purposes. The gaze of this mute witness is fixed on the young man kneeling before his father. What thoughts darken the wanderer's face, one can only guess.

The entire canvas is painted in Rembrandt's favorite reddish-brown tones. The artist was able to skillfully display the light accents on the faces of the people depicted and muffle the secondary characters. Even without knowing what is written in the biblical parable, having seen this great work, you can read everything on it.

Return of the Prodigal Son, ca. 1666-69

"The Return of the Prodigal Son" famous painting Rembrandt on the plot of the New Testament parable of the prodigal son.

Some man had two sons; and the youngest of them said to his father, Father! give me the part of the estate next to me. And the father divided the estate between them. After a few days younger son, having collected everything, he went to a far side and there he squandered his possessions, living dissolutely. When he had lived all, there came a great famine in that country, and he began to be in need; and he went and attached himself to one of the inhabitants of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine; and he was glad to fill his belly with horns that swine ate, but no one gave him. When he came to his senses, he said: how many hirelings from my father have plenty of bread, and 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 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; accept me as one of your hired hands.
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 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. And the father said to his servants: Bring the best clothes and dress him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet; and bring a fattened calf, and kill it; Let's eat and be merry! 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 killed the fatted calf, because he received him healthy. He got angry and didn't want to come in. His father went out and called him. But he said in response to his father: behold, I have served you for so many years and have never transgressed your orders, but you have never given me even a kid to have fun with my friends; and when this son of yours, who had squandered his possessions with harlots, came, you slaughtered a fattened 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 is alive again, 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 took pity; 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

This is the largest painting by Rembrandt on a 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 in 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, the head is written in profil perdu. The father gently touches the son's shoulders, embracing 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 the 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 section, which since ancient times has been used by artists to achieve the greatest expressiveness of their creations.

Shaved like a convict, the head of the prodigal son and his shabby clothes testify to the fall. The collar keeps a hint of former luxury. The shoes are worn out, and a touching detail - one fell when the son knelt down. In the depths, a porch is guessed and behind it the father's house. The master placed the main figures at the junction of pictorial and real spaces (later the canvas was placed at the bottom, but according to the author's intention, its lower edge passed at the level of the kneeling son's toes). “The depth of space is conveyed by a consistent weakening of light and shade and color contrasts, starting from the foreground. In fact, it is built by the figures of witnesses to the scene of forgiveness, gradually dissolving in the twilight. “We have a decentralized composition with main group(the node of the event) 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 compositional scheme "response".

Minor characters

In addition to the father and son, 4 more characters are depicted in the picture. These are dark silhouettes that are hardly distinguishable against a dark background, but who they are remains a mystery. Some called them "brothers and sisters" of the protagonist. 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 broken in any way.

Hermitage employee Irina Linnik believes that Rembrandt's painting has a prototype in the woodcut by Cornelis Antonissen (1541), in which the 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, an engraving in Greek, Hebrew and Latin says "God". The X-ray of the Hermitage canvas showed the initial similarity of the Rembrandt painting with the details of the mentioned engraving. However, a direct analogy cannot be drawn - the painting has only a vague resemblance to one of Antonissen's allegories (the farthest and almost disappearing in the dark), which resembles an allegory of Love, and, in addition, has a red heart-shaped medallion. Perhaps this is the image of the mother of the prodigal son.

The two figures in the background, located in the center (apparently, a female, possibly a servant or another personified allegory; and a male) are more difficult to guess. A seated young man with a mustache, if you follow the plot of the parable, may be a second, obedient brother. There is speculation that the second brother is actually the previous "female" figure hugging the column. And, perhaps, this is not just a column - in shape it resembles a pillar of the Jerusalem temple and can well symbolize a pillar of the Law, and the fact that a righteous brother is hiding behind it acquires a symbolic sound.

The attention of researchers is riveted by 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 vividly as the main characters. His face expresses sympathy, and the traveling cloak put on him and the staff in his hands suggest that he, like the prodigal son, is a lonely wanderer. Israeli researcher Galina Lyuban believes that this image is associated with the figure of the Wandering Jew. According to other assumptions, it is he who is the eldest son, which does not coincide with the age characteristics of the New Testament character, although he is also bearded and dressed like a father. However, this rich clothing is also a refutation of the version, because according to the Gospel, having heard about the return of his brother, he ran 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 two figures on the right side of the picture: a young man in a beret and standing man- these are the same father and son that are depicted on the other half, but only before the departure of the prodigal son from the house to meet revels. Thus, the canvas, as it were, combines two chronological plans. The opinion was expressed that these two figures are the image 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, is reminiscent of music, which in a few moments will fill the father's house with the sounds of joy.

Circumstances of creation

This is not the only work of the artist 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 his knees", reflecting an episode of the legend of the prodigal son squandering his father's inheritance.

The circumstances of writing the canvas are mysterious. It is believed that it was written in the last year of the artist's life. Changes and corrections to the original design of the painting, visible on x-rays, testify to the authenticity of the canvas.

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

Date of creation: 1666–1669.
Type: canvas, oil.
Location: Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

This masterpiece of biblical art once again confirms Rembrandt's status as one of the best artists of all times and an excellent master in the depiction of religious subjects. completed in last years life of the author, the picture depicts a scene from a parable told in the Gospel of Luke, according to the plot of which, the father (personifying the Lord) forgives all the sins of his prodigal son.

History reference

Religious iconoclasm that followed the liberation of Holland from the colonial yoke of Spain and catholic church resulted in churches with bare walls, intended for sermons and prayers. The Dutch authorities had no desire to decorate altars and temples with frescoes, paintings, or any other form of art. Instead, the country became known to the world of painting for its realist paintings, including portraits and still lifes (especially the Vanitas genre). All of these works contained various moralistic messages. It is not surprising that the Dutch came to "Protestant art". It was such a Protestant artist that he became Rembrandt.

Although in Holland there was no longer any need for Christian and altarpiece art, with images of saints, archangels, martyrs, righteous people, like works Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens, the audience was still interested in themes from the Old Testament, full of dramatic events and the educated Rembrandt, with a good knowledge of biblical subjects, repeatedly created works based on the stories from this book.

Return of the prodigal son

One of the last paintings of the master does not contain his characteristic dynamism. Like the Old Testament patriarch, the father puts his hands on the shoulders of the penitent, shaven and dressed in shabby clothes. His gestures are accompanied by silence, his eyes are half closed. The act of forgiveness becomes both a blessing and atonement for sins, referring to the ideas of forgiveness of sinners in Christianity. This image is extremely soulful, and spared from all anecdotal aspects. The elder brother of the penitent, standing on the right, according to the original source, reproached his father, since he himself served him for many years without violating the commandments, while the prodigal son wasted money and behaved inappropriately, but Rembrandt left this conversation aside, immersing the action into complete silence. Rembrandt had dealt with the theme of the prodigal son before, as an engraver, and also created sketches and drawings, but in this monumental version one can see the most touching and psychologically complex confrontation between the brothers. The ingenious Rembrandt perfectly reflects the sincerity of the prodigal son, as well as the feelings of a loving and gracious father. A warm and harmonious color palette, including shades of ocher, gold, olive and scarlet tones, creates an extraordinary feeling of calm and tenderness.

Rembrandt - Return of the Prodigal Son

Each of us knows the well-known parable about the return of the prodigal son under the roof of his own home and the generous forgiveness of his son by the father.

Rembrandt depicted biblical story on canvas, experiencing in his life a spiritual rebirth and the search for his "I", the artist turned to divine principle, it was in this story that he found divine enlightenment and renounced doubts and fears.

The center of the composition is made up of two figures - a father and a son. Sick and unhappy torn clothes, barefoot, the son returns from darkness, vices and sins, holding out his hands to a bright face, remorse for all his bad deeds that he has committed. Kneeling down, buried in his father's clothes, he seems to be looking for support and support, begging for forgiveness for his stupidity, unreason and disrespect.

His face is not visible, but it seems as if hot tears of bitterness and sadness are rolling down his cheeks. The happy father meets the prodigal son with incense, whom he no longer hoped to see. He opens his strong parental embrace, his face is bright and full of calm and peace. He forgives his child and accepts everything, despite all the deeds that he has done.

This scene is dramatic and tragic. The servants and the brother of the returning vagabond lowered their heads in meek silence.

This picture is full of hopes and anxieties, repentance and care, spiritual purity and acceptance. The artist seems to let us know that everyone who sincerely believes with his heart and soul, repents and loves can find light and forgiveness.

• Composition description of the painting After the rain. Ples Levitan

  One of the best pictures I.I. Levitan “After the rain. Ples (1886) was conceived during the artist's trip to the Kostroma province. She, like other compositions of the landscape painter, written on the Volga

• Composition based on the painting Bogatyr skok Vasnetsov Grade 4

  In his artistic creativity Russian painter Vasnetsov Viktor Mikhailovich, often referred to folk art and myths. Quite often, the heroes of his masterpieces became the mighty defenders of the ancient Russian land.

• Composition based on the painting by Vrubel the Swan Princess Grade 3, 4, 5 (description)

  It is impossible not to admire the picture of M.A. Vrubel "The Swan Princess". The story it depicts is captivating. Some kind of mysterious, mysterious and even mystical atmosphere reigns here.

• Serov V.A.

  Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov was born on January 19, 1965. creative family. The famous Russian artist grew up in Munich. Valentin owes his career as an artist to his teacher P. P. Chistyakov.

• Composition based on the painting by Shmarinov Peasant children Grade 5

  It's actually not really a picture! I was told (secretly) that this is an illustration for poetry. good illustration! Joyful and light, and also very natural, like a photograph.