Artwork
De verdrijving uit het paradijs
De verdrijving uit het paradijs is an unspecified painting by the Baroque artist Cornelius van Poelenburgh. It dates from 1646 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Overview
The work entitled *De verdrijving uit het paradijs* depicts the biblical expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. An angel brandishing a flaming sword drives the pair from a verdant sanctuary into a stark, rocky terrain, their bodies contorted in a mixture of fear and shame.
Subject & Meaning
The composition visualises the moment of divine punishment after the first humans eat the forbidden fruit. The angel’s fiery blade symbolizes the barrier between the celestial and the mortal, while the couple’s retreat into a barren landscape underscores the loss of innocence and the onset of human suffering.
Technique & Style
Executed with meticulous brushwork, the painting renders foliage, fabric folds and rocky outcrops in a sharply defined, almost miniature quality despite its life‑size dimensions. The surface is polished and crisp, reflecting the refined landscape tradition that Dutch artists adopted after studying Italian models in the early seventeenth century.
History & Provenance
The image is a close copy of an earlier composition by Cornelis van Poelenburch, created after his return to the Netherlands from Italy. The present version is attributed to an unknown hand, likely a workshop assistant or follower who reproduced van Poelenburch’s style for a patron interested in Baroque religious narratives.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Cornelis van Poelenburgh or Cornelis van Poelenburch (1594 – 12 August 1667), was a Dutch landscape painter and draughtsman.
