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 1/2 x 9 3/4in. (31.8 x 24.8cm)
Platemark (height x width): 14 x 10 1/2in. (35.6 x 26.7cm)
Sheet (height x width): 14 1/4 x 11 1/8in. (36.2 x 28.3cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number1992.140.3
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.
Status
Not on view
Object/Object