Michiel Coxcie I – Fall of Man and Expulsion from Paradise Kunsthistorisches Museum

The composition presents a narrative divided into two distinct yet interconnected scenes, both unfolding within a lush, idealized landscape. The left panel depicts a moment of temptation and transgression, while the right illustrates its immediate consequence.
Here we see a male figure, seated upon a low embankment, his posture suggesting weariness or contemplation. Beside him stands a female figure, her arm extended towards an abundant tree laden with fruit. Her gaze is directed upwards, seemingly focused on the offering above. The arrangement of figures suggests complicity and shared agency in the impending act. Below them, a menagerie of animals – a tortoise, a monkey, a lion – are rendered with meticulous detail, their presence contributing to the sense of an untamed, primordial world.
The right panel portrays the aftermath of this transgression. The male figure is now standing, his body contorted in a gesture that conveys both shame and defiance. A female figure stands beside him, her expression mirroring his distress. Above them, a winged being gestures with a sword, seemingly driving them away from the paradise they have lost. The landscape here transitions to a more somber tone; the vibrant colors of the left panel are muted, suggesting a loss of innocence and joy.
The artist’s use of light is significant. On the left, it illuminates the figures involved in the temptation, highlighting their physical beauty and emphasizing the allure of the forbidden fruit. In contrast, the right side is bathed in a more diffused light, underscoring the sense of expulsion and sorrow.
Subtleties within the rendering invite deeper consideration. The animals, rendered with such realism, might symbolize the natural world’s inherent duality – both beautiful and potentially dangerous. Their presence underscores the fragility of human innocence when confronted with temptation. The landscape itself, while initially idyllic, becomes a backdrop for suffering and loss, suggesting that even paradise cannot shield humanity from its own flaws. The division between the two panels is not merely spatial; it represents a profound shift in the narrative’s emotional register – from promise to consequence, from joy to sorrow.