Verdrijving uit het Paradijs 1675

Cesare Fantetti's engraving depicts the expulsion of Adam and Eve, marking their departure from innocence. The angel, armed with a sword, stands as a stern figure of divine justice, while Adam covers his face in shame and Eve hides her nakedness, clutching leaves. Consider how this moment echoes through art history. The motif of covering one's body appears across cultures, symbolizing guilt and awareness of the self, not just in religious contexts, but also in secular works exploring themes of morality. The shame and loss of innocence is a universal human experience. The sword wielded by the angel is not merely a weapon, but a symbol of authority and irreversible change, embodying a psychic rupture from paradise. It's a moment laden with psychological weight, reflecting our collective anxieties about mortality, guilt, and the irrevocable loss of the ideal. The symbolism transcends the biblical narrative, resonating as a primal memory of loss and transition, endlessly reinterpreted across time.