The Good Samaritan
Rembrandt took up the parable at three decisive moments: a small narrative painting in 1630, a masterful etching in 1633 and a landscape crossed by the storm in 1638. The subject remains the same, but the action, the scale and the light changes entirely.
Three works, three ways of showing compassion
In the 1630 painting and the etching of 1633, Rembrandt shows the arrival at the inn. The injured man got off the horse while the Samaritan pays the costs of his reception. The artist thus shifts the attention from heroic rescue to the concrete organization of care.
In the landscape of 1638, the episode becomes tiny. The Samaritan still helps the traveler on the road, but a huge valley, powerful trees, a torrent and a dissipating storm occupy most of the sign. There parable is no longer just told: it is inscribed in the rhythm of the world.
Do not confuse the painting, the landscape and the etching
1630
Oil on oak, 24.2 × 19.8 cm, Wallace Collection, London, P203.
1633
Etching, chisel and drypoint, approximately 25 × 20 cm depending on the print.
1638
Oil on oak, 46.5 × 66 cm, National Museum of Krakow, MNK XII-290.
Luke 10
The parable answers the question: "Who is my neighbor?"
Rembrandt shows the speech less than the consequences of the gesture
Abandonment
A traveler is robbed and left half dead on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho.
Indifference
A priest then a Levite pass without stopping. Their distance becomes visible in the landscape of 1638.
Care
The Samaritan bandages the wounds, transports the man to an inn and pays for his care.
In Rembrandt, compassion is not a pose. It becomes a series of actions: approaching, lifting, leading, paying and confiding.
A small area, a surprisingly deep scene
The Wallace Collection highlights the experimental nature of this youth panel, signed with the monogram "RHL" and dated 1630. The still clear palette and fluid touch belong to the last years from Rembrandt to Leiden.
The hero does not necessarily occupy the center
The Samaritan is already on the steps, engaged in a conversation with the innkeeper. Below, assistants remove the injured man from the horse. This sharing of action is essential: compassion no longer rests on a single spectacular gesture, but on a chain of people and tasks.
The vertical construction makes the gaze circulate from the horse to the threshold, then towards the figures placed higher up. The building is therefore not a simple setting: stairs, arch and balustrade tell the story of the passage of the dangerous road towards a protective space.
A better established attribution today
The panel was once donated to the workshop, notably to Govert Flinck. The Wallace Collection presents it today as a work by Rembrandt, emphasizing the quality of the drawing, the complexity of the composition and the freedom of the painting.
Rembrandt etches his painting, but refuses to make a mechanical copy
What Rembrandt keeps, moves and adds
| Element | Painting from 1630 | Etching from 1633 | Effect obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Composition | Vertical arrival in front of the hostel | Same general architecture, reversed by printing | Painting serves as memory, not a servile tracing paper. |
| Foreground | Relatively clear | Enriched with baskets, items and a dog | The biblical story enters daily life. |
| Light | Light colors and painted accents | Chopping, paper whites and modulated blacks | Light becomes a construction of the line. |
| Horse | Central colored mass | Volume modeled by size networks | The animal stabilizes the scene in both versions. |
| Diffusion | Unique object | Several impressions and four states | The composition can circulate and evolve. |
Why is the dog important?
In the foreground of the etching, a dog defecates before the viewer's eyes. The detail does not appear in the 1630 painting. He often surprised because he introduced a trivial gesture into the heart of a biblical subject.
This realism does not cancel out the seriousness of the parable. It reminds us that the act of kindness occurs in an ordinary world: animals, inn work, baskets and trash continue to exist while someone decides to help a stranger.
A typically rembranch contrast
The sacred does not float above reality. He reveals himself in a street, between a tired horse, a servant in a hurry and an imperfect inn.
The presence of the dog also broadens the foreground and gives additional depth to the engraved scene.
The parable becomes almost invisible in nature
In Landscape with the parable of the Good Samaritan, the help given to the injured person takes place at the side of the path, on the right. The figures are small facing the oaks, the torrent, the valley and the changing sky. The Krakow Museum also describes, further on, the priest and the Levite moving away, as well as a rich crew who remained indifferent.
Rembrandt combines a biblical city, imaginary reliefs and Dutch elements, including mills. The place is therefore neither reconstituted Jericho nor a simple Dutch countryside: it is a moral theater where several worlds come together.
The fading storm turns the landscape into a moral argument
The light returns
The plain opens under a clearer sky, as if after the storm has passed.
Trees divide
The large group of oaks separates the bright horizon from the darker road.
The treatment works
The Samaritan picks up the traveler in a dense and almost hidden area.
Indifference flees
Passersby who didn't help become tiny signs along the way.
It would be too simple to translate each cloud into a fixed moral value. But the succession of shadow, agitated water and thinning gives the Samaritan's gesture a cosmic significance: in an unstable world, a human decision momentarily restores order.
From the face to the world: how Rembrandt enlarges the parable
1630 · The inn
The painting condenses several gestures into a narrow architecture. The narration can be read from character to character.
1633 · The plate
Etching refines textures, enriches everyday life and allows the composition to circulate in several states.
1638 · The territory
The landscape pushes the figures away and transforms compassion into a point of resistance in the immensity.
Two paintings by Rembrandt to compare at home
The Good Samaritan, 1630
A vertical, intimate and dense scene, based on the Wallace Collection panel.
See reproductionLandscape with the Good Samaritan, 1638
A horizontal composition where the storm, the valley and the light dominate the figures.
See reproductionExplore biblical scenes, landscapes and engravings
The Good Samaritan connects three essential areas of Rembrandt: biblical storytelling, daily observation, and graphic experimentation.
See the entire Rembrandt collectionWhich format to choose?
The 1630 panel is suitable for vertical and intimate hanging. The landscape of 1638 requires more width and works particularly well above a base unit.
FAQ about Rembrandt's The Good Samaritan
How many versions did Rembrandt make?
Three main works are generally compared: the painting from 1630, the etching from 1633 and the landscape from 1638. Etching itself exists in four states.
Where is the 1630 painting?
At the Wallace Collection in London, under number P203.
Where is the landscape of 1638?
At the National Museum in Krakow, under number MNK XII-290.
What technique does Rembrandt use for printmaking?
It combines etching, chisel and drypoint to vary the precision of contours and the density of shadows.
Why does the dog appear in etching?
The detail adds a note of daily life and enriches the foreground, without appearing in the 1630 painting.
Is etching a copy of the picture?
No. It takes the composition but the opposite enriches and modifies it. The Wallace Collection believes that it was probably used to preserve and distribute the composition.
Does the landscape really represent Jericho?
Not in the topographical sense. Rembrandt combines biblical city, imaginary reliefs and Dutch elements.
Are the paintings available for reproduction?
Yes. Reproductions of the paintings of 1630 and 1638 are linked directly in this article.
Continue with Rembrandt
Official notices and royalty-free images
- Wallace Collection - Rembrandt, The Good Samaritan, 1630, P203
- Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Good Samaritan, 1633, first state out of four
- Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Good Samaritan, 1633, fourth state out of four
- Rijksmuseum - etching of the Good Samaritan, RP-P-OB-162
- Krakow National Museum - Landscape with the parable of the Good Samaritan, 1638
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