Currently not on view
The Departure of the Prodigal Son,
ca. 1719
Antonio Gionima, Italian, 1697–1732
x1951-112
This chromatically rich composition was likely a finished study for a painting (thus far unidentified). The bustling scene represents the initial moment of the parable: the son’s departure from his father’s household with his share of the inheritance. Gionima’s incorporation of twisting bodies, a rearing horse, and a wide vocabulary of theatrical gestures results in a sense of dynamism that heightens the chaos presented throughout the composition.
Information
Title
The Departure of the Prodigal Son
Dates
ca. 1719
Maker
Medium
Pen and brown ink with brush and gray wash, over red chalk, with corrections in white gouache, on cream laid paper
Dimensions
36.3 x 47.8 cm (14 5/16 x 18 13/16 in.)
frame: 62.1 × 77.5 × 2.9 cm (24 7/16 × 30 1/2 × 1 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Frank Jewett Mather Jr.
Object Number
x1951-112
Inscription
Inscribed verso, lower left, in graphite: 187; bottom
right, in graphite: Cirro Ferri
Marks/Labels/Seals
Watermark: Fleur-de-lis with letters
Reference Numbers
Gibbons 812
Culture
Type
Materials
gift of Frank Jewett Mather, Jr., but not stamped with his mark
- "Recent acquisitions," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 10, no. 2 (1951): p. 22-23., p. 23
- Felton Gibbons, Catalogue of Italian Drawings in The Art Museum, Princeton University, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977).
- Laura Giles, Lia Markey, Claire Van Cleave, et. al., Italian Master Drawings from the Princeton University Art Museum, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2014)., p. 108, cat. no. 44; p. 109 (illus.); p. 233, app. no. 25 (illus.)
