THE PRODIGAL SON AMID THE SWINE
Circa 1496
With monogram
245×187 mm
Handbooks:
Impression in the Museum collections
First quarter of the 16th century
No watermark
Provenance:
State Hermitage;
Rumyantsev Museum since 1862;
in the Museum since 1924
Inv. Г-2097
Comments:
the quality of the impression allows to classify it among the early ones
Other impressions in the Museum collections:
1) Inv. Г-5160, on paper with a watermark: a coat of arms of a city with a gate and a wall (М. 276; Br. 2325; 1570);
2) Inv. Г-8995, on paper without watermarks
3) Inv. Г- 89940, is on paper with a watermark: a great city gate (М. 263; Br. 15.912–15.922; 1530–1570)
If we compare the quality of three impressions, it is easy to see that the impressions Inv. Г-5160 and Г-89940 with the watermark dating from the second half of the 16th century are the thinnest, grey, with strokes significantly blurred. The quality of the Inv. Г-8995 is much better: it is clearer, permitting to date it from the middle of the 16th century