The Prodigal Son

A native of Amsterdam, Jan Weenix had a distinguished reputation for his opulent animal and hunting still lifes. His earlier works, which include this painting, focused on street and harbour scenes.

A popular subject in Dutch painting was the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15,11-32), who travels far from home, dissipates his entire inheritance and returns, penitent, to be received with open arms by his father.
The artist shows the Son as a bon-vivant in fine garments, gesturing expansively amid a merry, frivolous company. Loose women wearing extremely décolleté gowns in the latest fashion display their seductive charms. But the young couple in the foreground sits close to the abyss; one false movement will be their downfall.
Since Calvinist teaching in Holland forbade the display of altar pictures or even the representation of figures for worship, this kind of picture also served a didactic purpose. Scenes from the Old and the New Testament were used as admonition to moderation.