Artwork
The Fall of Man
The Fall of Man is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Lucas van Leyden. It dates from 1529 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Lucas van Leyden’s 1529 engraving titled *The Fall of Man* presents a compact, densely worked image of the biblical expulsion of Adam and Eve. Executed in the Northern Renaissance, the print demonstrates the artist’s command of line and composition, arranging the figures amid a richly detailed garden that serves as the backdrop for the narrative moment.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on the first humans at the moment of their banishment, with Adam holding a spear and Eve grasping the fruit that precipitated their transgression. The surrounding foliage and distant tree frame the scene, underscoring the loss of innocence and the moral consequences of disobedience that the story has traditionally conveyed.
Technique & Style
Van Leyden employs fine cross‑hatching to model forms, rendering the bark of the tree, the texture of leaves, and the drapery of the figures with subtle tonal variation. This meticulous line work creates a sense of volume and spatial depth within the limited range of black ink, illustrating the artist’s sophisticated approach to printmaking.
History & Provenance
Created in 1529, the engraving belongs to the period when van Leyden was active as both painter and printmaker in the Netherlands. It reflects the broader Northern Renaissance interest in biblical subjects rendered with narrative clarity. Surviving copies have been documented in several European collections, confirming its circulation among early 16th‑century patrons of printed art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lucas van Leyden (1494 – 8 August 1533), was a Dutch painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut. Lucas van Leyden was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and was a very accomplished engraver.
Salome with the head of St John the Baptist
The Virgin and Child
Worship of the Golden Calf
A Game of Chess
Mary with Child, St. Maria Magdalena and founder (separate outside, Inv. No. 7713)
Inner left wing of a diptych with Christ as the Man of Sorrows
Inner right wing of a diptych with the Virgin as Mater Dolorosa
Annunciation
