Paradise before the Fall of Man by Franz Rösel von Rosenhof

Paradise before the Fall of Man 1690 - 1695

canvas

medieval

cave painting

possibly oil pastel

canvas

derelict

underpainting

painting painterly

watercolour bleed

watercolour illustration

watercolor

warm toned green

Franz Rösel von Rosenhof's "Paradise before the Fall of Man" (1690-1695) depicts a lush, idealized Garden of Eden. The painting, now housed in the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst, showcases a diverse array of animals peacefully coexisting in a verdant landscape. The work is a testament to the artist's keen observation of nature, evident in the detailed rendering of both flora and fauna. The peaceful harmony of the scene stands in stark contrast to the later fall of Man, which is implied in the painting's title. Rösel's work highlights the beauty and innocence of creation, while also foreshadowing the consequences of sin.

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.