The Return of the Prodigal Son – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo


Listen to the Story: 8 minutes

Description:

This enormous, dramatic painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo focuses on the emotional homecoming in the Biblical story of “The Prodigal Son” in which youth and money make a bad combination.

Murillo painted this as one of eight paintings for a charitable hospital in Seville and we’ll find how the king of Spain’s top official tried to “borrow” it to place in a royal museum. We’ll also discover its connection to Napoleon Bonaparte and a guy nicknamed “Joey Bottles.”

Via https://alonglook-slowart.com/the-return-of-the-prodigal-son-bartolome-esteban-murillo/