Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre
Return of the Prodigal Son
1872
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Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre
Return of the Prodigal Son
1872
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, 14 13/16 x 11 1/8 in. (37.6 x 28.3 cm.)
Credit Line
The George A. Lucas Collection, purchased with funds from the State of Maryland, Laurence and Stella Bendann Fund, and contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations throughout the Baltimore community
Object Number
1996.45.115
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.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1996; The Maryland Institute College of Art,
through Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; from George A. Lucas, Paris
through Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; from George A. Lucas, Paris
The Maryland Institute, Baltimore, "Exhibition of the George A. Lucas Art Collection", 1911, cat. #264.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Modern Painting Isms and How They Grew", January 12-February 11, 1940.
BMA, 'A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840 - 1940,' June 6 - Sept. 1, 1941, p. 41.
BMA, 'The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute,' Oct. 12 - Nov. 21, 1965, cat. #115.
Hofstra University, The Emily Lowe Gallery, Hempstead, NY, "Late Nineteenth Century French Salon Painting," Oct. 17 - Dec. 15, 1974.
BMA Downtown Gallery, Baltimore, 'Selections from the Lucas Collection,' July 21 - Aug. 22, 1975.
Shepherd Gallery Associates, New York, NY, "Christian Imagery in French Nineteenth Century Art," May 20 - July 26, 1980.
Sona Johnston, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art," October 1, 2006 - December 31, 2006.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Modern Painting Isms and How They Grew", January 12-February 11, 1940.
BMA, 'A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840 - 1940,' June 6 - Sept. 1, 1941, p. 41.
BMA, 'The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute,' Oct. 12 - Nov. 21, 1965, cat. #115.
Hofstra University, The Emily Lowe Gallery, Hempstead, NY, "Late Nineteenth Century French Salon Painting," Oct. 17 - Dec. 15, 1974.
BMA Downtown Gallery, Baltimore, 'Selections from the Lucas Collection,' July 21 - Aug. 22, 1975.
Shepherd Gallery Associates, New York, NY, "Christian Imagery in French Nineteenth Century Art," May 20 - July 26, 1980.
Sona Johnston, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art," October 1, 2006 - December 31, 2006.
William Hauptman, "Charles Gleyre 1806 - 1874," Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996, pp.522 - 525, ill.
Inscribed: VERSO, FRAME: UC, 'Succession G.A. Lucas...'; TR, 'BMA cat./1965/#115'; also TR, 'SHEPHERD GALLERY...CHRISTIAN IMAGERY IN FRENCH NINETEENTH/CENTURY ART 1789-1906/May 20 to July 26, 1980/Catalog no. 71, illustrated'. VERSO, STRETCHER: LL + LR, 2 newspaper columns extending below backing board.
