Expulsion from Paradise 1790

Editor: Reinier Vinkeles' 1790 engraving, "Expulsion from Paradise," depicts a rather dramatic moment, wouldn't you say? The starkness of the black and white really amplifies the raw emotion. What's your take on it? Curator: Raw is a perfect word. This isn’t some gentle nudge out the door; it's primal fear, shame, maybe even anger etched in ink. The cross-hatching, so typical of engravings, creates a wonderfully agitated atmosphere. And consider this – what paradise are we really mourning here? A naive, unquestioning existence? Editor: That's a great point! It's like, they're being kicked out of ignorance as much as a garden. I guess I always thought of it as just a loss. Curator: Exactly! Vinkeles presents us with something far more complex. Look at Adam's protective, almost aggressive stance towards Eve, despite his own obvious terror. It's not just about the fall; it's about newfound responsibility, about facing a world they now have to understand. Perhaps it's the original growing-up story, visualized in miniature. Editor: The responsibility angle... I hadn’t thought of it that way. So, instead of just a simple tragedy, you're suggesting there’s also a birth of consciousness happening here? Curator: Precisely. The tragedy fuels their potential. And isn't that just the most human story of all? We’re all just perpetually being expelled from some kind of paradise, be it childhood, certainty, or comfort, and what matters is how we face the wild, unknown world. Editor: I’m definitely seeing this engraving in a totally different light now! The complexity is what makes this interesting. Curator: Agreed. It makes you ponder, doesn't it? Paradise might be overrated anyway.