- By Rembrandt (1606–1669)
- Title: The Parable of the Rich Fool
- Genre: religious art
- Date: 1627 Monogram and date bottom left: RH. 1627.
- Medium: oil on oak panel
- Dimensions: Height: 31.9 cm (12.5 ″); Width: 42.5 cm (16.7 ″)
Rembrandt’s early career focused on religious paintings, which were well received by influential patrons. Today’s featured painting, The Parable of the Rich Fool, is one of his early works, from the time when he shared a studio with Jan Lievens.
About this parable, via Wikipedia:
The rich farmer in this parable is portrayed negatively, as an example of greed. By replacing his existing barn, he avoids using agricultural land for storage purposes, thus maximizing his income, as well as allowing him to wait for a price increase before selling. St. Augustine comments that the farmer was “planning to fill his soul with excessive and unnecessary feasting and was proudly disregarding all those empty bellies of the poor. He did not realize that the bellies of the poor were much safer storerooms than his barns.”
Credits and Attributions:
Wikipedia contributors, “Parable of the Rich Fool,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parable_of_the_Rich_Fool&oldid=912095443
(accessed September 27, 2019).
Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:Rembrandt – The Parable of the Rich Fool.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Rembrandt_-_The_Parable_of_the_Rich_Fool.jpg&oldid=354111849
(accessed September 27, 2019).
Life in the Realm of Fantasy 
