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Jacques de Gheyn II

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Maker

Jacques de Gheyn II (Dutch, 1565-1629)
After Karel van Mander I (Dutch
Flemish, 1548-1606)

Title

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Year

1596

Medium

  • Engraving (left sheet of two) on medium weight cream paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Engraving (left sheet of two) on medium weight cream paper

Materials

engraving

Supports

  • Medium weight cream laid paper

Dimensions

Plate/Image: 41.3 x 33.2 cm (16 1/4 x 13 1/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Recto:in pencil, LR:32Verso:in brown ink, UL:106; in blue pencil, LC:Ea; in pencil,LR:P190In Plate--In LR:KVMandere (K.V + M in monogram) inven, Iacobus de geyn sculptor; 7-line Latin inscri

Marks: RISD Museum stamp in brown ink on verso
P. von Baldinger- Seidenberg collector mark in black ink on verso (Lugt 212)

Identification

State

2nd of 4

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Walter H. Kimball Fund

Object Number

47.414.1

Type

  • Prints

Publications

  • Books

The Brilliant Line: Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650

Renaissance engravings are objects of exquisite beauty and incomparable intricacy that are composed entirely of lines. Artists began using this intaglio process in Europe as early as 1430. This captivating catalogue focuses on the height of the medium, from 1480 to 1650, when engravers made dramatic and rapid visual changes to engraving technique as they responded to the demands of reproducing artworks in other media. The Brilliant Line follows these visual transformations and offers new insight into the special inventiveness and technical virtuosity of Renaissance and Baroque (Early Modern) engravers. The three essays discuss how engraving’s restrictive materials and the physical process of engraving informed its visual language; the context for the spread of particular engraving styles throughout Europe; and the interests, knowledge, and skills that Renaissance viewers applied when viewing and comparing engravings by style or school.

Exhibition History

The Brilliant Line
Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650
Sep 18, 2009 – Jan 03, 2010

Label copy

This engraving by De Gheyn reflects Hendrick Goltzius’s influence, with its swelling lines and density of lozenges and dots that create volume and light, but it also shows De Gheyn’s stronger tendency toward the finer detail and descriptive qualities that line could achieve. The luxurious ornament throughout the image is appropriate to the subject, as it serves to reinforce the sensual and sexual nature of the prodigal son’s digressions.

This large, two-sheet print, meant to be pasted together, depicts a popular subject in the Protestant north. The prodigal son is a young man dressed in a fashionable doublet who bows to his dancing partner, a young woman with a shimmering gown reminiscent of allegorical depictions of Vanity. Dedicated to the leader of the Dutch military in its struggle against Spain, the moralizing verses warn sinners of the seduction of love, and implore them to seek forgiveness with God, who will forgive those who repent. The ambiguity of the image’s message (should we indulge in the visual pleasures, or eschew them?) threatens to undermine its overall moral intent.

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Jacques de Gheyn II (Dutch, 1565-1629)
After Karel van Mander I (Dutch
Flemish, 1548-1606)
Ger. Valk, publisher
The Parable of the Prodigal Son, 1596
Engraving (left sheet of two) on medium weight cream paper
Plate/Image: 41.3 x 33.2 cm (16 1/4 x 13 1/16 inches)
Walter H. Kimball Fund 47.414.1

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