The Expulsion from Paradise

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.