Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son, His Last Word
The Return of the Prodigal Son is among the last and most moving works of Rembrandt, painted around 1668, near the end of his life. It shows the closing moment of one of Christ’s best loved parables, the father welcoming home the son who had wasted everything. The painting is in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Its medium is oil on canvas.
The story comes from the Gospel of Luke. A young man demands his inheritance, leaves home, and spends it all in reckless living. Ruined and starving, he returns expecting to be treated as a servant, and instead his father runs to embrace him. Rembrandt paints the instant of that embrace.
Everything is held in shadow except the two central figures, lit by a warm, quiet light. The son kneels in rags, his head shaved, one shoe fallen off, while the old father bends over him with a face of pure forgiveness. It is one of the gentlest images of mercy ever painted. Readers who want to see more of the artist can also read our article on Rembrandt’s paintings.
The History of The Return of the Prodigal Son
Rembrandt painted The Return of the Prodigal Son in his final years, probably around 1668, and died in 1669. By then his life had been marked by deep loss. He had gone bankrupt, sold his house and possessions, and buried his partner and several of his children. The painting carries the weight of that suffering.
Many see in it Rembrandt’s own longing for grace. The painter who had known wealth and ruin, fame and rejection, turns at the end to a story about a father’s unconditional love. It is often called his spiritual testament, the last word of a long and difficult life.
The Father’s Embrace
At the center the old father leans over his kneeling son and draws him in. His face is calm and worn, his eyes almost closed, expressing not anger or disappointment but a deep, settled tenderness. The son presses against his chest, his ruined clothes and shaved head telling the whole story of where he has been.
There is no scolding here, and no condition. The father does not wait for an explanation. He simply receives his son, and the warm light that falls on the two figures makes their reunion the still, glowing heart of the painting.
The Two Hands
The most famous detail is the pair of hands the father lays on his son’s back. Look closely and they are not the same. One is strong and broad, a firm, fatherly hand, while the other is slimmer and softer, almost a mother’s hand.
Many art historians believe Rembrandt did this on purpose, to show that the father’s love is both fatherly and motherly at once, strength and tenderness together. In those two quiet hands the whole meaning of the parable is gathered.
The Watching Elder Brother
To the right, set apart and upright, stands the elder brother. In the parable he is the dutiful son who never left home, and who resents the welcome given to the wasteful one. Rembrandt paints him stern and unmoving, his hands clasped, watching the reunion without joining it.
Other dim figures look on from the shadows, their roles left uncertain. Between the kneeling son bathed in light and the stiff brother standing in the dark, Rembrandt sets the whole question of the parable, whether we will accept mercy, for ourselves and for others.
Rembrandt’s Final Testament
The Return of the Prodigal Son shows the late Rembrandt at his most profound. Gone are the rich costumes and dramatic action of his earlier work. What remains is a few figures, deep shadow, and a warm light, used to express forgiveness with almost unbearable simplicity.
It is this stripping away that gives the painting its power. Rembrandt no longer needs to dazzle. He needs only to show a father and a son, and to let the silence around them carry the weight of grace.
Conclusion
In The Return of the Prodigal Son Rembrandt turned a parable of forgiveness into one of the most tender images in all of art. The bowed father, the kneeling son, and the two gentle hands say everything about mercy without a single word.
Painted at the close of a hard life, it remains his quiet masterpiece. It offers every viewer the same welcome the father gives his son, and asks only whether we are ready to receive it.
Artwork Information
| Artwork | Artist | Date | Medium | Current Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Return of the Prodigal Son | Rembrandt | c. 1668 | Oil on canvas | Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg |
Five Facts About The Return of the Prodigal Son
- The Return of the Prodigal Son is one of Rembrandt’s last paintings, made around 1668.
- It shows the parable from Luke’s Gospel, the father forgiving his returning son.
- The father’s two hands differ, one firm and fatherly, the other soft and motherly.
- The stern elder brother stands apart, representing judgment and resentment.
- It is a large oil on canvas in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
FAQ
What does Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son depict?
It depicts the end of the parable of the prodigal son from the Gospel of Luke, the moment when a father embraces the ragged son who had wasted his inheritance and returned home in shame.
What is the meaning of the painting?
It is about unconditional forgiveness and grace. The father receives his son without a word of reproach, an image of the mercy that Christ taught and, many feel, that Rembrandt himself longed for at the end of his life.
What is special about the father’s hands?
The two hands are painted differently. One is firm and broad, a fatherly hand, while the other is slimmer and softer, like a mother’s. Together they suggest a love that is both strength and tenderness.
Who is the man standing on the right?
He is the elder brother from the parable, the dutiful son who stayed home and resents the welcome given to the wasteful one. He stands apart, watching, as a figure of judgment.
Where is the Return of the Prodigal Son?
It is in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
When did Rembrandt paint it?
He painted it around 1668, one of his final works before his death in 1669.
Why is the painting so personal to Rembrandt?
Rembrandt painted it after years of bankruptcy and grief, having lost his home, his partner, and several of his children. Many see his own search for forgiveness and peace in the father’s embrace.
Where can I buy a reproduction of Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son?
The shop at jesuschrist.pictures offers museum-quality canvas reproductions of the great Christian paintings, and the collection keeps growing; it is the best place to look for a reproduction of Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son.
