"The Return of the Prodigal Son" - a picture of Rembrandt

The main difference between the work of Rembrandt van Rijn is his timeless nature. Historically, at the time of the heyday of Dutch painting of the XXVII century, it does not allow us to discover an obvious link to it, either on the themes touched on in the paintings or on the artistic means with which it reveals these topics. This property of Rembrandt's painting matures with the course of the master's life, reaching a maximum at the end of it. "Return of the Prodigal Son" - a picture that is usually considered a testament of a brilliant artist. Historians of art usually date it in 1663 - the year of death of the maestro. The scale of the philosophical content of this plot, and the picturesque sound of the canvas reach a truly cosmic scale.

Eternal story

He was primarily interested in the depths of human nature, the motives of people's actions. Therefore, it is understandable why Rembrandt wrote on biblical subjects much more often than his contemporaries. The parable of the prodigal son is one of the most popular subjects of world painting. "The Return of the Prodigal Son" is a picture of a separate self-worth, but this is the continuation of the conversation. His variants of the interpretation of the parable were Hieronymus Bosch, Albrecht Durer, Murillo and many other masters of different countries and generations.

Rembrandt himself refers to this story more than once - his etchings with the title "Prodigal Son" are known. Reasonings on this topic are revealed by the researchers of Rembrandt's work, even in such a famous master's thing as "Self-Portrait with Saskia on his knees" (1635). This is also a peculiar "Return of the Prodigal Son" - a picture that is interpreted by them as an illustration of that part of the parable, which tells of the mischief of a son who thoughtlessly wasting his father's inheritance. From this point of view, the joy of being, which the master's canvases radiate, written during the happiest periods of life, is supplemented by a slightly different shade.

Painter is not life, but spirit

The peculiarity of Rembrandt's creativity is explained by his purely pictorial techniques, using the palette, working with light and shadow. If for most "small Dutch" and consonant artists is characteristic of the desire for an accurate and tangible representation of things, the expression of their material essence, then Rembrandt's objects come out of nothingness or "from the darkness of the past," being closely related to the course of time and history. Writing "Return of the Prodigal Son," Rembrandt confirmed his loyalty to the special atmosphere inherent only to him, which highlights the main thing on the canvas, without depriving any important detail of the light.

And this is not just a virtuoso game of "master of chiaroscuro", as the historian and connoisseurs of his work call the brilliant Dutchman. This is an extra indication of the primacy for him of the inner content of human actions, the search for their motivating reasons. Where does the essence of man come from, who created it and how does that change that determines being? The fact that he poses such questions and offers his answers, not related to the time in which he lived, neither internal, nor external attributes, Rembrandt shows that he is modern and relevant always.

"Return of the Prodigal Son": description

His picturesque manner is such a means to create a narrative, to tell stories that none of the artists at all times possessed. How does Rembrandt tell the ancient parable of returning home?

... We are present during the pause that followed after the son came to the doorstep of his father's house. This pause is not soundless - it rings ... After all, too much is lost - his head is shaven, like a convict, his shoes are worn, he has no strength left, no means to achieve anything, not even desires and ambitions. A terrible ending to unfulfilled hopes. A father comes to meet him and just puts his hands on his son's shoulders, and he falls, almost dissolving in the folds of his clothes. "The Return of the Prodigal Son" - a picture of the completion of all earthly paths, where in the end there will be a golden beam similar to that illuminated by those who met, illuminated one of the most outstanding Rembrandt images - the head of the father. This ray is charity, which all the erring are hoping for.

Questions and answers

Like other masterpieces, Rembrandt gives the Return of the Prodigal Son many riddles and secrets. Perhaps they simply came about because of a long period of time, and at the time of writing the picture, it was clear to the viewers, for example, who the other characters in the canvas are, why they look at the visitor in such different ways with such a different feeling. Why are the brushes of father's hands, lying on the shoulders of his son, so strikingly different from each other?

Since the old times, much has been lost, and most of the secrets have simply lost their meaning. Indeed, is it important, in the end, in what kind of relationship are the people present on the canvas? Is their social status or material condition important? Now they are all just witnesses of the exciting event - a meeting after a long separation of two native people, witnesses to the act of forgiveness, on which the Christian world view is largely based.

For All Seasons

Rembrandt van Rijn ... "The Return of the Prodigal Son" is a picture that almost literally repeats itself in the finale of the famous Andrei Tarkovsky's film "Solaris", released in 1972.

Images born many centuries before, are the most suitable for expressing the feelings that the protagonist of the film is experiencing - Chris Kelvin, returning to his home threshold from a star system located millions of miles away ...