The Fall. Who Corrected Martin de Vos? Automatic translate

This is the second mono-exhibition of the project "From restoration to interpretation. Four stories". The exhibition tells about the painting "The Fall", created at the end of the 16th century by an unknown Dutch master, as well as about its scientific restoration and comprehensive study, which allowed to return the original appearance of the painting and establish the names of those involved in its creation.

The plot of the film is based on the biblical story of the first human couple, Adam and Eve, about how, having tasted the forbidden fruit, people forever violated the harmony of communion with God and were expelled from Paradise. The Fall is the most important plot of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

There are many dramatic facts in the history of art that testify to changes being made to the original author’s image or the substitution of the artist’s name. A similar story happened with the painting "The Fall". All this was discovered thanks to the research of specialists from the All-Russian Art Restoration Center named after I.E. Grabar. The restorers conducted complex physical and chemical studies of the painting. They showed that the author’s painting was under a layer of different-time overpaintings. In one of the areas, under the image of the trees of paradise, a figure of God the Father was discovered. This discovery led to further research.

The figure of the Creator was hidden by an unknown artist presumably in the late 16th – early 17th century. It was a time when long bloody conflicts between Catholics and Protestants raged in Europe, and this work could have perished in the fires: the Protestants opposed the images of sacred faces, directly destroying them. However, the unknown owner of the Fall decided that it was enough to simply hide the controversial detail (the image of the Lord) behind the image of nature. The other elements of the painting did not contradict religious precepts, and the plot remained clear. Thus, the lush trees of the Garden of Eden appeared in the painting, under the image of which the key detail of that era remained invisible for 400 years.

It has also been established that at least five individuals were involved in the creation of this painting: Duke William V of Bavaria (1548 – 1626); his court engraver Jan Sadeler (1550 – 1600), who was commissioned to produce a series of engravings on biblical subjects; the artist Martin de Vos (1532 – 1603), who created the drawings for the engraving; the unknown owner of the painting, who decided to hide the figure of God the Father, and the unknown artist who brought this idea to life.

At the exhibition, viewers can see what the painting looked like before and after restoration; learn what the work can tell in the context of the era; learn in detail about the restoration methods and materials, see the "traces of time" - for example, the flight holes of a beetle, which determined the features of the restoration work. In addition, the exhibition displays materials (old books, engravings, maps, coins), allowing us to understand what happened in those ancient times.

Team of authors

• Project manager: Olga Startseva, deputy director of the Perm Gallery
• Curator: Igor Martynov, Chief Researcher of the Perm Gallery
• Architect: Nikita Goynov
• Graphic designer: Sasha Bubnova

The mono-exhibition "The Fall. Who Corrected Martin de Vos" (6+) is open to viewers from February 7 to March 16, 2025 at the Perm Art Gallery (Telta, Okulova St., 75, bldg. 3).

The exhibition was prepared with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Perm Region.