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Scenes from the Creation

Creator

Flemish Illuminator · 1483–1561

Artist

One of the most celebrated painters of Flanders in the 1500s, Simon Bening was hailed by Portuguese art critic Francisco da Hollanda as the greatest master of illumination in all of Europe. In addition to producing books for powerful aristocrats such as Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, Bening worked for a group of international royal patrons including Emperor Charles V and Don Fernando, the Infan

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Date: about 1525–1530
Medium: Tempera colors, gold paint, and gold leaf
Culture: Flemish
Department: Manuscripts
Institution: Getty Museum

Underneath a date palm, a luxuriously clad God the Father lifts up and blesses Eve, his new creation formed from Adam's rib. Behind the three figures, the golden Fountain of Life pours water into a stream from which the animals of Paradise drink. In the background, Adam and Eve reach for the forbidden fruit on the Tree of Knowledge. Halfway up the closest hill, an angel wielding a sword drives the couple from Paradise in punishment for their sin. On top of the mountain, Cain and Abel offer their gifts to God, Abel's signifying God's acceptance with rising smoke and Cain's signifying God's rejection with descending smoke. Thus in the beautiful landscape of Paradise, the tragedy and sorrow of humanity's fate already casts a gloomy pall on the glory of Creation.

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