Lucas van Leyden
Netherlandish, c. 1494-1533
The Expulsion from Paradise
INV-1065
Lucas van Leyden
Netherlandish, c. 1494-15331510
The Expulsion from Paradise
Lucas van Leyden Netherlandish, c. 1494-1533 →engravingprint
Date
1510
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 16.3 × 11.8 cm (6 7/16 × 4 11/16 in.); Plate: 16.6 × 12.2 cm (6 9/16 × 4 13/16 in.); Sheet: 16.9 × 12.2 cm (6 11/16 × 4 13/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Clarence Buckingham Collection
Because Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God expelled them from the Garden of Eden. Although Eve’s sinful disobedience resulted in their exile from paradise, toil, and mortality, Lucas van Leyden sympathetically represented Eve as a mother, lovingly holding her infant son and gazing into his tiny face. This depiction of maternal love is reminiscent of contemporary images of the Madonna and Christ. Eve’s statuesque, refined figure and classically draped clothing strongly contrast with Adam’s savage exterior and tattered, fur-trimmed trappings.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
