Ena Heller points out that Dürer's depiction of the prodigal shows an emphasis on portraiture (i.e., the characters were based on models). Dürer's people "are not idealized types. These are people he actually looks at."

"That's very typical of all the great artists in this period," Heller says. "They pretty much bring the biblical scenes and put them in a contemporary landscape with contemporary clothing. That's the [historical] way of making the images accessible. That's a way that you and I can relate to these images in an environment that is ours."