Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden
Workshop of Abraham Bloemaert (Gorinchem 1564 - Utrecht 1651)
Oil on canvas (118 x 81 cm. - in frame 129 x 91 cm.)
The work depicts a famous scene from the Old Testament (Genesis 3:23-24), namely the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after they broke the only prohibition imposed by God: the two protagonists are depicted naked, covered only by ivy branches, in the heart of a lush natural environment and visibly broken by the weight of remorse for the sin they have committed.
Below, we see the serpent, which, after tempting Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, is slithering away stealthily, and also a rabbit, which alludes to the serene nature and innocent life of the garden before the sin.
Looming over them is the angel with the flaming sword, with his powerful iconographic presence, representing divine justice, protection and punishment, who, following God's will, is ordering them to leave Eden, pointing in the opposite direction with his finger.
The composition is based on an invention by Abraham Bloemaert (Gorinchem 1564 - Utrecht 1651), later disseminated by an engraving by Jan Pietersz. Saenredam (1565-1607) from around 1604 (see M. G. Roethlisberger, Abraham Bloemaert and his sons, Ghent 1993, p. 123, no. 75), contributing to the popularity of this iconographic subject (1).
A leading figure in 17th-century Dutch painting, Bloemaert was the founder of the famous “Utrecht School” with a career that spanned over sixty years, spreading his style thanks to the numerous engravings created from his works, mostly by Hendrick Goltzius, as well as the aforementioned Jan Saenredam.
The artists in his entourage, pupils of the Utrecht school or followers, used his compositions, often handed down through prints and drawings, as models: just like the author of our canvas, who, from a stylistic point of view and considering the period, we can easily identify as an active member of his workshop during the 17th century. (1) The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, Jan Saenredam (Zaandam, 1565 – Assendelft, 1607), after Abraham Bloemaert National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
Delevery information :
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