The Prodigal Son

probably c. 1879

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

Artist, French, 1824 - 1898

A nearly nude man with a pale, peach complexion sits on the ground facing our right in profile, leaning back on a mound with his legs extended in front of him and hands gathered at his chest under his bowed head in this wide, horizontal painting. The man's body almost spans the width of the composition. He wears only a light, slate-blue loincloth wound around his hips. He has a straight nose, a brown beard, and his hair falls past his ears. Diffused light creates a subtle shadow on his face and the backs of his bent knees. The landscape behind him is painted with sage-green and peanut-brown hills. Several darker brown hogs nuzzle in a mud puddle and stand in the meadow beyond the man. The horizon almost reaches the top edge of the composition, and the narrow band of sky is pale blue, nearly white.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on linen

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 106.5 x 146.7 cm (41 15/16 x 57 3/4 in.)
    framed: 130.8 x 171.1 x 7 cm (51 1/2 x 67 3/8 x 2 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1963.10.200

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist [1824-1898]; his estate;[1] sold 14 June 1899 to (Durand-Ruel, New York and Paris).[2] Jerome Stonborough, New York; (his estate sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 17 October 1940, no. 75); purchased by Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.
[1] In the lower right corner of the reverse of the canvas is a red wax seal bearing the artist's name; these atelier seals were affixed to the paintings after the artist's death (see Aimée Brown Price, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, exh. cat., Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam and Zwolle, 1994: notes to catalogue).
[2] Aimée Brown Price, Puvis de Chavannes: A Study of the Easel Paintings and a Catalogue of the Painted Works, Ph.D. dissertation., Yale University, New Haven, 1972: no. 244; Aimée Brown Price, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, 2 vols., New Haven and London, 2010: 1:102-103, pl. 123, 2:271-272, no. 299, repro.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1899

  • Exposition de Tableaux, Esquisses & Dessins de Puvis de Chavannes, Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1899, no. 35.

1904

  • Salon d'Automne, Paris, 1904, no. 14 in the Puvis de Chavannes room.

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

Bibliography

1941

  • Catalogue of French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 11, repro. pl. XX

  • "The Chester Dale Pictures on loan to the National Gallery of Art." Magazine of Art 34 no. 9 (November 1941): 476+, repro.

1942

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 31, repro.

1944

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1944: 31, repro.

1953

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1953: 38, repro.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 106.

  • Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 54, repro.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 93, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 276, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 483, no. 712, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 321, repro.

1998

  • Boeckl, Christine M. “Penitence/Repentance." In Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art. Edited by Helene E. Roberts. 2 vols. Chicago, 1998: 2:718, 723, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20188852

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