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The Prodigal Son

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Image of The Prodigal Son

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Bookmark: https://collection.sdmart.org/objects-1/info/5312

The Prodigal Son


Creation date: ca. 1600
Creation place: Iran

Other Information

Type: Manuscript Painting
Medium and Support: Opaque watercolor and ink on paper
Credit Line: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Binney 3rd
Accession Number: 1972.232
State/Province: Isfahan Province
Dimensions: 2 9/16 in. x 3 15/16 in. (6.51 cm x 10 cm)

Provenance

Jean Pozzi, Paris, France ( - May 22, 1967)

Joseph Soustiel, Paris, France (May 22, 1967 - June 1, 1969)

Edwin Binney 3rd, San Diego, California (June 1, 1969 - December 29, 1972)

San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, California (December 29, 1972 - )

Label Copy

December 2007
Designs on Each Other: Indian Paintings and European Prints
During the reign of Shah ‘Abbas of Iran, members of his court took a keen interest in imported pictures from Europe. A Persian court painter faithfully reproduced with some modifications, Beham’s engraving. For example, the face of the main figure is swarthier, and the lower portion of the prodigal son’s staff has been turned into the leg of another swine. Mughal patrons and painters emulated the Persian court fashion of copying European, for it was seen as a sign of sophistication.
The reversal of the composition may be due to the technique of transferring the image from the print to paper. This work was later remounted into an album, and when it came to the collection of the San Diego Museum of Art, it had a series of condition problems, which have since been repaired. The process of restoring this work is discussed in the computer kiosk program.

Sonya Quintanilla (2014) Quebec
The Prodigal Son
Iran, ca. 1600
Opaque watercolor and ink on paper. 6.51 x 10 cm
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Binney 3rd, 1972.232

During the reign of Shah ‘Abbas of Iran (1587–1629), members of his court took a keen interest in imported pictures from Europe. A Persian court painter faithfully reproduced, with some modifications, Hans Sebald Beham’s engraving of The Prodigal Son with the Swine. For example, the face of the main figure is swarthier, and the lower portion of the prodigal son’s staff has been turned into the leg of another swine. Mughal patrons and painters emulated the Persian court fashion of copying European prints, for it was seen as a sign of sophistication.

The reversal of the composition may be due to the technique of transferring the image from the print to paper. This work was later remounted into an album, and when it came to the collection of The San Diego Museum of Art, it had a series of condition problems, which have since been repaired.
Last Updated: 11/25/2019

Exhibition

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Book Arts of Isfahan: Diversity and Identity in Seventeenth-Century Persia The J. Paul Getty Museum , 10/24/1995 - 1/14/1996

Books of Arts of Isaham: Diversity and Identity in Seventeenth- Century Persia , 10/25/1995 - 1/14/1996

The Art of Conservation: Preserving the Past for a New Millennium Timken Museum of Art , 10/15/1999 - 3/5/2000

Into India: South Asian Paintings from The San Diego Museum of Art San Diego Museum of Art , 2/28/2012 - 5/27/2012

Bibliography

This object has the following bibliographic references:

Dr. Ellen Smart. San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego Museum of Art. San Diego, California, 1993
Page Number: 92, Figure Number: 92

Alice Taylor. Book Arts of Isfahan: The J. Paul Getty Museum. Malibu, California, 1995
Page Number: 25, 26, 28, Figure Number: plate 7

Alice Taylor. Book Arts of Isfahan: Diversity and Identity in Seventeenth-Century Persia The J. Paul Getty Museum. Malibu, California, Fall, 1995
Page Number: no. 13

Dr. Sonya Quintanilla and Patrick Coleman. Visiones de la India Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Madrid, 2012
Page Number: 164, 283, Figure Number: cat. 72, p. 165

Dr. Sonya Quintanilla and Patrick Coleman. Visiones de la India (Mexico) Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia. Mexico , 2013
Page Number: 106, Figure Number: cat. 70, p. 107

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