Artwork Page for The Seed Falling among the Stones

Details / Information for The Seed Falling among the Stones

Series Title: Parable of the Sower

The Seed Falling among the Stones

1574

Philip Galle

(Flemish, 1537–1612)

after Gerard van Groeningen

(Flemish)
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Culture
Netherlands
Medium
engraving
Credit Line
L. E. Holden Fund 2023.128.2
Catalogue raisonné
New Hollstein, Philips Galle 149 i/ii
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

The figure representing religion in this image is described specifically as “Persecution,” implying some of the religious troubles during the Protestant Reformation.

Description

This is one of a series of four prints portraying the biblical parable of the sower, made in Antwerp (in present-day Belgium) at the end of the 1500s. The parable compares types of soil to people in the world: one hardened; one fickle; one distracted by things of the world; and one with an open heart, ready to accept God. In this image of the fickle sower, the seed cannot grow among the stones because the man turns away when challenged by religion (represented as a standing figure with a cross). He is accompanied by two more figures representing Fear and Weakness.
A horizontally oriented black ink print depicts four figures in a rocky landscape before a distant city. On the left, a woman in armor holds a tall wooden cross and flaming torch. Beside her, a man walks away carrying a small animal. In the center, a man stands with one hand raised toward a woman on the right who leans on a staff with her arm in a sling. Latin text lines the bottom margin.

The Seed Falling among the Stones

1574

Philip Galle, Gerard van Groeningen

(Flemish, 1537–1612), (Flemish)
Netherlands

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