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The Seed Received among the Thorns
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The Seed Received among the Thorns

Philip Galle (Flemish, 1537–1612), artist; Gerard P. van Groningen (Netherlandish, active late 1500s), artist · 1574 · engraving

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

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. The third sower (here, portrayed as a pilgrim) distractedly throws seeds among thorns. He is surrounded by two female personifications—Cares of the World, and Avarice (extreme greed for money)—indicating the source of his distraction from religious piety. This print relates to a preparatory drawing in the museum’s collection (2012.4).

Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
Credit lineParable of the Sower: The Seed Received among the Thorns, 1574. Philip Galle (Flemish, 1537–1612), after Gerard P. van Groningen (Netherlandish, active late 1500s). Engraving. The Cleveland Museum of Art, L. E. Holden Fund, 2023.128.3
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