Of Swiss origin, Gleyre spent much of his life in France, first in Lyon and later in Paris, where he developed a polished, academic style as a student at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Suisse. A defining experience in his life was an extended journey he made to the Near East with Bostonian John Lowell. In the course of this trip, he recorded the exotic life of the region as well as significant sites in a series of vibrant watercolors and drawings. Gleyre is also remembered as the teacher of a number of the Impressionists including Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley. This composition, which shows the prodigal son greeted by his mother, reflects the artist’s desire to portray subjects drawn from classical and religious sources in his later works.