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Hans Sebald Beham

The Prodigal Son Wasting his Fortune, 1540

Description

Maker

  • Hans Sebald Beham, 1500-1550, German

Title

The Prodigal Son Wasting his Fortune

Year

1540

Medium

Engraving

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • engraving

Supports

  • Light weight laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 5.1 x 9 cm (2 x 3 1/2 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Lettered within image UL: '1540 // HSB' and 'Dissipavit substanciam suam vivendo luxuriose // Luce XV'.

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Prints

Credit

Gift of the Fazzano Brothers

Object Number

84.198.624B

Projects & Publications

Publications

The Brilliant Line

Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650
Read Online

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

The Brilliant Line

September 18, 2009 - January 3, 2010

Georg Pencz and Hans Sebald Beham worked in Reformation Nuremberg during and after Albrecht Dürer’s life. Called the “Little Masters” for the predominately small format of their prints, these engravers were direct technical successors of Dürer. However, Italian engravings would have been readily available for study by the 1540s and thus their works can be placed in the context of Marcantonio Raimondi’s influence as well. The copious dot-work found on the figures and the passages of parallel lines that define the form of legs and arms may in fact owe more to Italian models than to Dürer.

Beham represented four narrative moments explicitly mentioned in the biblical text of the Prodigal Son: the Prodigal bids farewell to his father, squanders his inheritance, stands destitute among the swine, and returns to his father where he acknowledges his sins and is forgiven. The Prodigal Son was a frequent subject in Reformation art because it served to instruct about God’s grace and the importance of faith over good works.

Related

No Image Available

Hans Sebald Beham, designer

The Prodigal Son, 1540

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Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is The Prodigal Son Wasting his Fortune with the accession number of 84.198.624B. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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