Michelangelo’s The Fall and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden illustrates the biblical story of the Temptation and Fall of Adam and Eve found in the Book of Genesis. The Tree of Life stands in the center of the painting, dividing it into two contrasting scenes; the left representing the Temptation of Adam and Eve, and the right depicting their expulsion from Eden (Fig. 1). The passage begins with God warning Adam and Eve that they will die if they eat the fruit from the tree, as indulging in the fruit will expose them to knowledge of evil in the world. However, the serpent assures Eve that the fruit will not kill them, saying “that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” A crucial aspect of the story
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In Masolino’s Temptation, 1420’s, Eve’s left arm is wrapped around the tree, and bears the fruit in her right hand while Adam stands passively beside her (Fig. 1.1). Similarly, the serpent places the fruit in Eve’s right hand and Adam watches in Dürer’s Adam and Eve, 1504 (Fig. 1.2). In contrast, Michelangelo’s The Fall and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden challenges these traditional depictions by illustrating the devil serpent holding out the fruit for Eve to eat, with Adam lunging over Eve to get an apple in his own right (Fig. 1.3). This illustration is essential with consideration to the Oration on the Dignity of Man, as it expresses Adam’s free will in getting the apple for himself, and subscribes to the idea of Adam’s agency to choose his own destiny through exercising his free will. In contrast with this depiction, the right half of the painting shows Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden by a sword-bearing cherub, which Mirandola highlights as the second highest level of angel that man should strive to be like (Fig.
In Masolino’s Temptation, 1420’s, Eve’s left arm is wrapped around the tree, and bears the fruit in her right hand while Adam stands passively beside her (Fig. 1.1). Similarly, the serpent places the fruit in Eve’s right hand and Adam watches in Dürer’s Adam and Eve, 1504 (Fig. 1.2). In contrast, Michelangelo’s The Fall and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden challenges these traditional depictions by illustrating the devil serpent holding out the fruit for Eve to eat, with Adam lunging over Eve to get an apple in his own right (Fig. 1.3). This illustration is essential with consideration to the Oration on the Dignity of Man, as it expresses Adam’s free will in getting the apple for himself, and subscribes to the idea of Adam’s agency to choose his own destiny through exercising his free will. In contrast with this depiction, the right half of the painting shows Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden by a sword-bearing cherub, which Mirandola highlights as the second highest level of angel that man should strive to be like (Fig.