The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 15, 2026

The Seed finding Good Earth

1574

Philip Galle

(Flemish, 1537–1612)

after Gerard van Groeningen

(Flemish)
Netherlands
engraving
L. E. Holden Fund 2023.128.4
Catalogue raisonné: New Hollstein, Philips Galle 151 i/ii
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The sower’s prosperity due to his fertile land and heart is represented by his act of charity, providing money to a passing beggar.

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 last sower, depicted here, presents fertile soil for his seed resulting in the bountiful harvest seen in the background. He is accompanied by figures representing theological virtues Faith, Hope, and Charity.
  • ?–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 finding Good Earth|url=false|author=Philip Galle, Gerard van Groeningen|year=1574|access-date=15 March 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.128.4