FLEMISH SCHOOL, 18TH CENTURY | THE PRODIGAL SON

This painting repeats a composition in the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, currently attributed to Hieronymus Janssens (inv. no. 2637). There are also two other known versions of this painting, one recorded in a private Viennese collection, 1943 and the other in a private collection in Scotland, 1960.

The subject of this painting is the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-13), which was a popular theme in Northern Europe from the 16th century well into the 18th century. It depicts the moment when the prodigal son squandered all his wealth in wild living in a distant place from home.