The Return of the Prodigal Son
Sebastiano Ricci (Belluno 1659 – Venice 1734)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1712 - 1716
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
599 x 514 mm (23 1/2 x 20 1/4 in)
Place of origin
Venice
Order this imageCollection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 732311
Caption
The picture depicts the parable which is recounted in Luke’s Gospel in the New Testament. It shows the moment when the younger son, having squandered all his inherited money on bad living, is repentant. He kneels at the door of his father's house whilst his father, accompanied by other members of the household, gesticulates in an act of forgiveness with his hand. Others, including a beggar, witness the scene from the street against a backdrop of classical buildings. Although not a study for a larger work, this picture, painted by the artist around 1720 has a sketchy quality, characterised by loose, vigorous brushwork and a notable absence of 'finish', that appealed increasingly to collectors in the 18th century. Henry II Hoare, may have purchased this picture from Consul Smith in Venice in 1739, amongst others. The figure of the woman holding a child in the foreground derives from Tintoretto.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Return of the Prodigal Son by Sebastiano Ricci (Belluno 1659 - Venice 1734). The picture depicts the parable which is recounted in the New Testament, Luke 15: 11-32. It shows the moment when the younger son, repentant, is received at the door of his father's house. He kneels on the lower step and his father gesticulates with his right hand, while other figures hover in the doorway on the left. In the foreground, a woman standing, dressed in red and holding a baby, seen from behind, is looking on along with a child, wearing pale blue, kneeling on a stone wall on her left. On the right, a beggar is seated on the ground watching. The scene is set against a background of classical buildings and an archway under which more figures and a donkey are visible.
Provenance
Acquired by Henry II Hoare (1705-85) and thence by descent; given to the National Trust along with the house, its grounds, and the rest of the contents by Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Bt (1865 – 1947) in 1946
Credit line
Stourhead, The Hoare Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Sebastiano Ricci (Belluno 1659 – Venice 1734), artist
References
Walpole 1927-28 Paget Toynbee (ed.), 'Horace Walpole's Journals of Visits to Country Seats, etc.', 1760-62, Walpole Society XVI, 1927 -28 pp. 9-80, p.42 Jeffery Daniels, L'Opera Completa di Sebastiano Ricci, Milan 1976, no.375 Jeffery Daniels, Sebastiano Ricci, Brighton 1976, p.115, no.413, fig.271