The Fall 1479 . Oil on wood. Hugo van der Goes. Kunsthistorisches Museum. Vienna, Austria
This is the left panel of a diptych. The right panel shows the Lamentation. Perhaps Van der Goes intended to show two important moments in Christianity side by side. On the left the Fall of Man, when mankind appearantly was doomed to suffer and dwell on earth for ever. On the right the Death on the Cross, the moment salvation came within reach. In the foreground the snake succeeds in letting Eve eat from the forbidden fruit. Following the style of Van Eyck, Van der Goes paid much attention to detail. Every leaf on the trees in the parklike landscape appears to be painted individually. The Serpent, "slyer than every beast of the field," tempts the woman to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, telling her that it will make her more like God, and that it will not lead to death. After some thought about the fruit's beauty and succulence, and its ability to grant wisdom, the woman decides to eat it. She then gives the fruit to the man, who eats also, "and the eyes of the two of them were opened." Aware now of their nakedness, they make coverings of fig leaves, and hide from the sight of God. God asks them what they have done, and man and woman defer responsibility. The man blames the woman for giving him the fruit, but implies a sentiment that God is also at fault for making the woman in the first place e fruit of the tree, while the woman blames the serpent for seducing her to disobedience. God curses the Serpent "above all animals," causing it to lose its legs and to become an eternal enemy of the human race. God then passes judgment for the disobedience of the man and woman, condemning the man to sustain life through hard labor and the woman to create new life through painful childbirth, and banishes them from the garden. The woman is given the name Eve (Heb. hawwah) "because she was the mother of all living [Heb. hay]," and Adam receives his name when the text drops the definite article from the word for "the man," changing "ha-adam" to "Adam".
Size: 3400px × 5145px
Location: Vienna, Austria
Photo credit: © M.Flynn / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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