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The Prodigal Son Demanding his Inheritance

Publisher Nicolas de Larmessin III French
ca. 1751
Not on view
This engraving illustrates an episode from the parable of the Prodigal Son. The younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance while the more responsible older brother stands behind his father's chair. The younger brother will travel and sqander the money before returning home penniless, but receive a warm welcome from his father. In Le Clerc's treatment of the subject, the biblic story is set in a fashionable eightheenth-century interior.

The print was part of a set of six plates advertised in the 'Mercure de France' in 1751.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Prodigal Son Demanding his Inheritance
  • Artist: René Gaillard (French, ca. 1719–1790 Paris)
  • Artist: After Sébastien Leclerc II (French, Paris 1676–1763 Paris)
  • Publisher: Nicolas de Larmessin III (French, Paris 1685–1755 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1751
  • Medium: Engraving
  • Dimensions: Sheet (Trimmed): 13 7/16 × 15 1/16 in. (34.1 × 38.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.282.99
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
Le Berger Recompensé (The Rewarded Shepherd), René Gaillard French, Etching and engraving
Le Berger Recompensé (The Rewarded Shepherd)
René Gaillard
After François Boucher
18th century
Scrapbook of Drawings and Prints, Gideon Saint British, Pen and ink, engraving and etching
Scrapbook of Drawings and Prints
Gideon Saint
ca. 1760
Portrait of Théodore Tronchin, René Gaillard French, Etching and engraving
Portrait of Théodore Tronchin
René Gaillard
After Jean Etienne Liotard
1782
Phaeton, from "The Four Disgracers", Hendrick Goltzius Netherlandish, Engraving
Phaeton, from "The Four Disgracers"
Hendrick Goltzius
After Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem
1588
Fashion Merchant, René Gaillard French, Etching and engraving
Fashion Merchant
René Gaillard
After François Boucher
1746–55

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