Frame: Replica of a Flemish early 17th century architrave profile cabinet frame.
Gift of the Marjorie Engels Memorial Fund and the Paintings Council
According to the Bible, the prodigal son was a youth who wasted his wealth on riotous living, then returned home poor and repentant. Here, in a tavern, the prodigal son shares the last of a rich meal with two prostitutes. A large bed looms suggestively behind them. Completing the theme of wine, women, and song, two street musicians play a flute and a violin. On a nearby chair, the young man's bright red cloak and sword suggest the temporary nature of his stay.
The artist excluded any reference to the prodigal son's ultimate forgiveness by his loving father, focusing instead on the young man's sins. To make his message against immoral living clear, Teniers included a clothed monkey who is eating an apple, an ancient symbol of love, and dragging a ball and chain. Enslaved to sex, the monkey represents the prodigal son's bondage to vice.
Acquired in 1945 45.8
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