The Prodigal Son in Misery
1815
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1815
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
The Prodigal Son in Misery is a 1815 ink by Mary Ann Willson, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This painting shows a man in rags sitting on the ground, eating with pigs while a stormy sky looms above. Nearby, two women stand under a shelter, looking down at him. The colors are flat and bright, with bold outlines and simple shapes—dark clouds, a yellow field, and a striped fence. The text at the bottom calls it *The Prodigal Son in Misery*, referencing a Bible story about a son who wastes his money and ends up poor. The artist used watercolor and ink to keep the lines sharp and the colors simple. Next, check out watercolor, glazing to see how this technique works.
Mary Ann Willson (active 1810 to 1825) was an American folk artist whose work remained undiscovered for over a century, until it appeared in an exhibition of American Primitive paintings in 1944.
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