The Good Samaritan

Artist

Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, late 1600s - late 1660s)

Date

1633; 17th-18th century impression

Medium

Etching

Dimensions

Sheet : 10 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (26.67 x 21.59 cm)

Credit Line

The Sarah and Grace Collection

Object Number

2018.8.12

Label

In the Gospel of Luke, Christ offers a parable about a kind-hearted Samaritan who stops to help a traveler who has been attacked by robbers after others have ignored his distress. To emphasize the contemporary relevance of the story’s moral, Rembrandt translates the scene into a more familiar European context, with figures in modern dress helping an injured man off a horse and paying for him to be cared for at a roadside inn. The composition of the print is similar to a painting Rembrandt created in 1630. One detail in the print that does not appear in the painting is the image of the dog defecating in the foreground. Rembrandt had an irreverent sense of humor and was known for adding amusing touches to many of his artworks.