The Expulsion From Eden 

Ford Madox Brown made this drawing called "The Expulsion From Eden," using graphite on paper, probably in England. The subject, of course, is the biblical story of Adam and Eve being banished from paradise. I’m struck by the way Brown uses established visual codes to convey meaning. We see the shame of Adam and Eve through their averted gazes and partially covered bodies. This is a Victorian take on this scene, which is made all the more clear by their physique. It also feels significant that Brown has chosen to depict this event during a period of rapid social and industrial change in England. Perhaps the loss of paradise reflects a wider anxiety about modernity and the changing social order. To truly understand this work, we'd need to delve into the visual culture of Victorian England: its art, literature, and religious beliefs. That's where the social historian comes in, piecing together the context that gives the image its full resonance. After all, art doesn't exist in a vacuum; it speaks to and is shaped by its time.