The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise by Masaccio

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise
Masaccio
1427, Fresco, 7' x 2'11"
Page 611 

     The fresco The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise by Masaccio fills the viewer with a sense of anguish.  Although this fresco was created quite quickly, just four days, it successfully interprets the regret, shame and guilt Adam and Eve felt after being cast out.  Artists working in fifteenth century Italy during the Renaissance period were interested in naturalism as a result of people becoming more interested in the world around them.  This particular piece by Masaccio isn't intensely detailed, due to the finicky and fast drying nature of fresco work, it still shows a general understanding of scale, proportion and realism.  

     Masaccio's Adam and Eve have a look of Roman sculpture because he used his knowledge of ancient Roman sculpture and studies of nudes to his advantage in order to allow the viewer to feel as though they are there, watching Adam and Eve being cast out of Paradise.  The detail paid to Eve's face, hands and the way she is walking, along with the details of Adam, his hands upon his face and the foreshortening of his backfoot are all way Masaccio creates the illusion that the figures are walking.  According to the text, "Masaccio concerns himself with the psychological impact of shame on these first humans," instead of focusing on the wrongness of their deeds and how Adam and Eve had a "falling from grace," (pg. 611).  It was probably not his intention to make the viewer feel bad for Adam and Eve, though that is how I feel when I look at this fresco.  Often I feel like Adam and Eve ought to have been forgiven, because isn't that one of the basic tenants of Christianity?  I suppose perhaps that Masaccio wanted the 15th century chapel-goer to understand the kind of pain, anguish and shame that comes with sin.  

     Critically speaking, the proportions of Adam and Eve's arms are a bit off, they seem a bit short and stumpy, though I'm sure this was a product of simply not having enough time to properly plan out the bodies.  The way the figures are lit from a single light source is interesting and perhaps symbolizes God's generosity and lenience in allowing them to live at all after committing such sins as they did.  They are allowed another chance, only this time they are mortal and with each new generation, they get the chance to redeem their souls.  Additionally, the single light source allowed Masaccio to model the figures more dramatically so he could portray bunching muscles and minute details in the form, like the dent above the patella and the various contours of Eve's soft, fleshy abdomen.  Eve is also walking in the style of a modest Venus, covering her breasts and pubic area with her hands and arms, further pushing the shame of bodily sin.  I find it interesting, and a strange contrast, that Adam, although just as naked as Eve, is only covering his face with both of his hands, and not covering his genitals at all, but that Eve's face is showing, in all it's anguished glory, but she covers herself with her hands.  Why then does Adam not need to cover his genitalia while Eve must?  I'm sure it has something to do with the patriarchal system which Christianity is set into.  It is interesting to note, however, that until 1988 this fresco had fig leaves painted on it by the Church in order to cover the obscenity pictured within.   

     Although there are differences between the Biblical account of The Expulsion and Masaccio's rendition of events, they are small.  The most meaningful, perhaps, is that the portal portrayed in the fresco wasn't present in the Biblical account, it allows the viewer to feel as though Adam and Eve are leaving some place, some place sacred and a place they won't be able to get back to.  If they were simply walking along with mountains in the background and an angel in the sky, the context would seem different and one might wonder why these two figures, not necessarily obviously Adam and Eve, were walking in anguish and shame.  Also, according to the Bible, Adam and Eve wore clothes made of the hides of animals, and were not actually cast out, naked into the wild world.  Masaccio probably painted them naked in order to highlight their carnal sins and to increase the drama of the scene.