The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 16, 2026

The Seed Received among the Thorns

1574

Philip Galle

(Flemish, 1537–1612)

after Gerard van Groeningen

(Flemish)
Netherlands
engraving
L. E. Holden Fund 2023.128.3
Catalogue raisonné: New Hollstein, Philips Galle 150 i/ii
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The female figure at left, representing Avarice, carries a large, laden moneybag in her right hand.

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. 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).
  • ?–2023
    (Galerie Paul Prouté, Paris, France), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    September 11, 2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=The Seed Received among the Thorns|url=false|author=Philip Galle, Gerard van Groeningen|year=1574|access-date=16 March 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.128.3