Robbers attacked a man on his way from Jericho to Jerusalem. First they stripped him of his raiment, and then they wounded him. After this, they departed, leaving the man lying there half dead. The print illustrates a passage from the parable Jesus told when asked by a so-called lawyer how to achieve eternal life. Jesus answered him with the parable about the Good Samaritan. (St. Luke 10, 25-37) This tells how several passers-by left the man lying there until finally a Samaritan came along, took pity on the man, tended his wounds and took him to an inn.
The artist responsible for this print is not known, though he has added his monogram, which consists of a capital A with a smaller G inside. The artist has also worked with later elements in this parable. Thorvaldsens Museum possesses another print (inv. no. E1811) with the same monogram and dated the same year, 1554. This shows the wounded man hanging over the back of the Samaritan’s horse on his way to the inn. In the spirit of the 16th century, the artist has been keen to emphasise the parable’s moral and ethical content.
