Flämischer Meister des 17. Jahrhunderts Lot n° 290

ADAM AND EVA IN PARADISE Oil on wood. Diameter: 26.5 cm. The painting is created as a circular picture and shows the first human couple naked in the shade of a large tree against a dark forest background. On the tree a fruit, which Eve grabs with outstretched hand. Around the upper part of the tree - the so-called tree of knowledge - a snake coiled, which touches the apple with its head, as it were symbolically handed over to the human couple. On the left edge of the picture the head of a roebuck, further down a little dog camps, followed by cats and other domestic animals closer to the people, such as rabbits, chickens, cattle and goats. On the right in the background view into the paradisiacal realm with more brightly lit trees and wild animals such as lions, bears and other creatures, in between birds. Thematically as well as in terms of content, the depiction goes back to Brueghel's large-format painting of the same name, "Adam and Eve in Paradise", which was created in collaboration with Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), with Rubens creating the figures there. The present painting, however, is completely unique in that while the composition of the picture is comparable, the figure composition appears completely different from the usual Brueghelian models of this subject. The earlier version mentioned was painted in 1617 (oil on wood, today in the Mauritshuis, The Hague). The circular painting of high painterly quality both in the rendering of figures, which betray the lasting influence of Rubens, and in the landscape rendering in the background with finely executed foliage that develops into bright turquoise-green towards the back. (†) (13013110) (11) Flemish Master of the 17th century ADAM AND EVE IN PARADISEOil on panel. Diameter: 26.5 cm. (†)