The Earth after the Fall of Man by Franz Rösel von Rosenhof

The Earth after the Fall of Man 1690

canvas

gouache

abstract painting

water colours

possibly oil pastel

oil painting

canvas

underpainting

painting painterly

watercolour bleed

watercolour illustration

watercolor

Franz Rösel von Rosenhof's "The Earth after the Fall of Man" (1690) is a vibrant oil painting showcasing a chaotic scene teeming with animals. This work, now housed in the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst, depicts a menagerie of creatures amidst a lush forest landscape, referencing the biblical narrative of Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden. The artist meticulously renders a diverse array of fauna, including birds in flight, mammals on the ground, and even mythical beasts, highlighting the impact of humanity's actions on nature. The artwork's detailed representation of animals contributes to the Baroque genre of animal painting, also known as "menagerie art."

Comments

statensmuseumforkunst about 1 year ago

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The two paintings show what happened when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge. From all creatures living peacefully side by side in plenty, to a barren world ravaged by murder and mayhem. These are moral object lessons; not zoology. Obviously the artist did not study living animals, but copied older sources instead. In the depiction of Earth, animals from every corner of the world mingle with imaginary creatures. In front of the two paintings learned spectators could amuse themselves by seeing how many they might name and recognize from books and other popular depictions. On the threshold of the modern era, belief in Christian traditions had become more abstract. Perhaps von Rosenhof's paintings do not so much convey a religious message as they provide a humorous illustration of the philosopher Thomas Hobbes' (1588 1679) thesis that without sovereign government we risk a war of all against all.