Rembrandt and Luke 15:11–32
The Interpretive Artist's Use of the Bible
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58412/hyb.v4i1.54471Keywords:
Luke 15:11–32, Rembrandt van Rijn, The Return of the Prodigal Son, Art, Interpretation, ExegesisAbstract
This article examines how the 17th-century artist Rembrandt van Rijn interprets the parable in Luke 15:11–32 in his painting The Return of the Prodigal Son (1669). The article begins with a presentation of Rembrandt as a biblically interpretive artist, and then proceeds to a presentation of the Lukan text through a narrative lens, foregrounding the story’s settings, characters, events, and plot dynamics. This is followed by the main section of the article, in which the 1669 painting is analyzed using an art-focused reception-historical method in order to illuminate how Rembrandt, through his painting, enables a renewed encounter with Luke 15:11–32. The article concludes that Rembrandt, in his interpretation, departs from the particularities of the parable and instead emphasizes its universal significance through various artistic and hermeneutical techniques.
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