Der verlorene Sohn

Perino del Vaga's Der verlorene Sohn — The Prodigal Son — dated 1524 and held in the Bavarian State Painting Collections, treats one of Jesus's most beloved parables from Luke's Gospel, in which a younger son squanders his inheritance in dissolute living, returns home in poverty, and is welcomed back by his forgiving father. The Prodigal Son was an immensely popular subject in the sixteenth century because it dramatized themes of sin, repentance, and divine mercy at the center of both Catholic penitential theology and the emerging Protestant debate about grace. Perino's engagement demonstrates his range beyond the decorative programs for which he is better known.

Perino del Vaga brings his characteristically elegant figure style to the narrative, the graceful anatomical handling derived from Raphael's workshop giving the figures a fluid quality. The composition organizes the reconciliation scene with classical restraint.