The Prodigal Son in Misery
PrintmakerEtched by
Amos Doolittle
(American, 1754 - 1832)
PublisherPublished by
Shelton & Kensett
(American, founded 1813)
Date1814
MediumEtching; printer's ink and watercolor on wove paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 12 1/4 x 9 3/4in. (31.1 x 24.8cm)
Platemark (height x width): 13 3/4 x 10 1/2in. (34.9 x 26.7cm)
Sheet (height x width): 14 1/2 x 11 1/8in. (36.8 x 28.3cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1972.65.1
DescriptionA young man wearing a coat, shirt, breeches, hose, slippers, and a hat is seated on a bank in what appears to be a pig sty. His clothes are torn and ragged. Two pigs eat from a wooden trough at the right. Another pig stands in the foreground near a whip. The head of a fourth pig is visible behind the wooden shelter in the right background. A board fence and a large tree are in the left background. A house, possibly with a thatched roof, trees, and hills are in the distance.
Label TextAmos Doolittle's four prints of The Prodigal Son include elements from Connecticut portrait paintings of the late 18th century, providing the Biblical parable with a sense of immediacy for contemporary viewers.
NotesSubject Note: The etching was printed on a sheet of paper that had already been used for a large map of the State of Indiana. A portion of this map is on the verso of this impression. (Finlay 2/3/2011).Status
Not on view
Object/Object