Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). A man divided his estate between his
two sons. The younger went off, squandered his portion in riotous living
and was finally, in poverty, reduced to tending a farmer’s pigs. He returned
home penitently and was joyfully received by his father who said “My boy,
you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” (Luke 15:31).
This parable, which teaches the virtues of repentance and forgiveness,
is most often represented in art.
See: Rembrandt. The
Prodigal Son in the Tavern (Rembrandt and Saskia),
The Return of
the Prodigal Son.