Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt

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Return of the Prodigal Son A pervading sense of quietness, peace, and forgiveness fill this scene from the biblical parable. The prodigal son has just returned from squandering his inheritance, wearing tattered clothes. His father stands over him lovingly, tenderly placing his hands on his son’s back, while the older brother looks on, arms folded in silent admonition. This was one of Rembrandt’s final paintings, completed just a year before his death. His own two sons, both in their twenties, had recently died of the plague. One Christian writer, Henri Nouven, happened to see a poster of this painting. He was so enamored he travelled to St. Petersburg, Russia, to see it in person. He was able to spend hours alone before this life-sized work. It deeply touched him so much he wrote an entire book about it. I’d like to quote Sister Wendy Beckett’s reflection on this painting: “Rembrandt shows them lost in a silent intimacy, the son’s face half hidden, his poor, worn-out shoes falling from his calloused feet, his clothes ragged, his exhaustion palpable. The father’s cloak swells out in almost womblike protection, enclosing them in that one-to-oneness that is the essence of all relationships and cannot be judged by anyone else. The elder son looms judgmentally at the side, resentful, as stiff as his staff, a man of legal narrowness instead of love. He receives no embrace because he does not seek it, standing aloof from the family”. Questions: What emotions are the three main characters (the father, the prodigal son, and the older brother) feeling at this moment? Do you think the death of his sons influenced Rembrandt to paint this
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