Verloren zoon als varkenshoeder

A tattered and barefoot young man leans on a staff while tending to swine and cattle in a rustic barnyard. To the right, a woman milks a cow and farmhands work amidst crumbling thatched buildings, creating a sense of ruin and rural hardship. The scene is rendered with the intricate detail and elongated forms typical of Dutch Mannerist engraving.

This image serves as a moral allegory for the soul's degradation within the material realm and its eventual turning back toward divine grace. It reflects Northern European humanist interests in the spiritual journey and the 'Homo Bulla' (man as a bubble) theme, emphasizing the vanity of worldly pleasures and the necessity of repentance.