The Wicked Husbandmen (The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ)

It took Millais seven years to design twenty images inspired by New Testament Parables for the Dalziel Brothers, and the resulting prints are considered pinnacles of wood engraved illustration. The artist wrote to his publishers, "I can do ordinary drawings as quickly as most men, but these designs can scarcely be regarded in the same light—each Parable I illustrate perhaps a dozen times before I fix [the image]." After completing a design, Millais transferred it to a woodblock coated with "Chinese" white for skilled engravers to carve. Finally, he reviewed proofs, and final adjustments were made before the final printing.
The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen appears in Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, and Luke 20:9-19, and tells how a vineyard owner entrusts his property to caretakers. When servants and the owner's son arrive to claim the harvest they are attacked and killed. Pre-Raphaelite ideals shaped the combination of detailed naturalism and down-to-earth imagery to produce a work distinctly different than most religious art of the period.