Fine Art

The Prodigal Son Amid the Swine — History & Facts

A young profligate claims his inheritance, squanders his fortune in taverns and brothels, and winds up penniless amid the swine. Upon returning home, full of repentance, his father welcomes him with open arms. The prodigal son personifies the prideful sinner who spurns God and upon seeing the error of his ways is received with boundless mercy.

More Artworks by Albrecht Dürer

A winged figure crowned with a wreath sits resting her head on her hand, holding a compass, surrounded by geometric shapes, tools, and a sleeping dog.

Melancholia

Albrecht Dürer

Albrecht Dürer's 'St. George and the Dragon' depicts the legendary battle between the saint and the dragon.

St. George and the dragon.

Albrecht Dürer

Self-Portrait with Fur-Trimmed Robe

Self-Portrait with Fur-Trimmed Robe

Albrecht Dürer

Wing of a European Roller

Wing of a European Roller

Albrecht Dürer

Iris

Iris

Albrecht Dürer

The Great Piece of Turf

The Great Piece of Turf

Albrecht Dürer

A waist-up portrait of Christ against a green background, raising his right hand in blessing and holding a transparent orb topped with a cross in his left hand.

Salvator Mundi

Albrecht Dürer

Young Hare

Young Hare

Albrecht Dürer

A young man with long curled blond hair and a trimmed beard wears a patterned hat and Renaissance clothing, resting his gloved right hand on a stone ledge with a landscape behind him.

Self-portrait

Albrecht Dürer

Black and white engraving showing nude Adam and Eve with fig leaves, a serpent on a branch between them, and a detailed forest background.

Adam and Eve (The Fall of Man)

Albrecht Dürer

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More Religious Art

A triptych showing a lush garden with nude figures and animals on the left, a vibrant central panel of nude humans and fantastical creatures, and a dark, fiery hellscape with tortured figures on the right.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Hieronymus Bosch

Father embraces his son in an etching by Rembrandt van Rijn

The Return of the Prodigal Son

Rembrandt van Rijn

A young woman in a red dress and blue mantle sits on a rock with two children, one holding a small bird, set against a landscape of hills and trees.

Madonna of the Goldfinch

Raphael

Rembrandt's 'The Crucifixion' depicts a dramatic moment in a religious context.

The Crucifixion

Rembrandt van Rijn

Rubens' depiction of Christ on the Cross with Mary, Mary Magdalene, and St John in a moment of profound grief.

Christ on the Cross with Maria, Mary Magdalene and St John

Peter Paul Rubens

A muscular female figure in an orange robe twists her body holding a massive open book above her head, with a young attendant seated behind her.

Libyan Sibyl

Michelangelo

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