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Artist:
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David Teniers
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Title:
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The Prodigal Son
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Date:
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c. 1640
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Medium:
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Oil on copper
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Dimensions:
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22 1/2 x 30 1/2 in. (57.15 x 77.47 cm) (canvas)
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Credit Line:
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The William Hood Dunwoody Fund
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Location:
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Gallery 312
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Frame: Gift of the Marjorie Engels Memorial Fund and the Paintings Curatorial Council
According to the Bible, the prodigal son was a youth who wasted his wealth on riotous living, then returned home poor and repentant. Here, in a tavern, he shares the last of a rich meal with two prostitutes. A large bed looms suggestively behind them. Completing the theme of wine, women and song, two street musicians play a flute and a violin. On a nearby chair, the young man's bright red cloak and sword underscore the temporary nature of his stay. To clarify his narrative of the prodigal son's bondage to vice, Teniers included a clothed monkey eating an apple, an ancient symbol of love, and dragging a ball and chain.
This is a replica of a rare Flemish frame from the early-seventeenth century. It is an architrave profile cabinet frame in antique Indian ebony wood with reeded mouldings. This unique frame is a faithful reproduction of this nearly extinct frame type, both in materials and construction.
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Artist/Creator(s)
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Name:
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Teniers, David
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Nationality:
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Flemish
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Life Dates:
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Flemish, 1610 - 1694/96
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Object Description
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Inscriptions:
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Signature LL: [D. Teniers ft.]
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Classification:
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Paintings
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Physical Description:
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New Testament parable (Luke 15:11-32): A lively scene showing the Prodigal Son at supper with courtesans at an inn, accompanied by servants and musicians.
The room, whose light source comes from a high leaded window on the left, is filled with many still-life details and rich symbolism. In the far left corner is a four-postered bed completely enclosed by velvet drapery. On the opposite side of the room through the open doorway, a thief is being chased by an angry woman, while another figure in a second-story window empties a chamber pot onto his head. Just inside the doorway, hanging on the wall, is a wooden board used for recording the guest's food and wine bill. Having placed his red velvet cloak, plumed cavalier's hat, fur piece and sword on a nearby chair, the Son sits at the round dining table and holds out his glass for a serving boy to fill. On the right, a serving woman carrying a covered pewter platter exchanges a word with the woman whose back is toward us, while a small dog wags his tail in anticipation of receiving the table scraps. A fiddler and a flutist stand behind the table, merrily playing their instruments. On another cloth-covered table in the left foreground are a pitcher, two glasses, and several loaves of crusty bread. On the floor below is a copper wine cooler containing several bottles of wine. Nearby, a monkey, dressed in a striped coat and wearing a ball and chain, munches on an apple.
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Creation Place:
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Europe, Netherlands, , ,
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Accession #:
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45.8
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Owner:
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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