Cleveland Museum of Art

The Prodigal Son: Riotous Living

Abraham Bosse

Date

1635

Medium

etching

Culture

France, 17th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In the biblical proverb of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32), the son wastes his inheritance at a brothel; destitute, he returns to his father and is forgiven. Though the story is meant as a lesson of repentance, artists often focused on the brothel scene, which allowed them to explore the son’s morally questionable choices. This print depicts the interior of a brothel as if it were an opulent home from the 1600s. Three women, a man, and a child distract the son to steal his coin purse. One woman holds a triangular glass of wine, highlighting the role of wine in the son’s carnal desires and eventual ruin. An open window reveals the brothel's crescent-moon signboard. Such symbols may have been associated with vice in seventeenth-century Europe.

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