The Fall of Man

Well, Lucy, you were such a good sport when I made you spend ALL day in the Louvre with me several summers ago. We were there the moment it opened and security almost had to shoo us out the door when it closed. It was like a day in Paradise for me...but I know it was more of an exercise in patience for you. :) That's why I think you will be pleased to hear that I made it to the National Gallery here in Washington DC (twice) already. So I won't make you go with me when you are here. However, I thought you might still enjoy seeing some of the highlights from the museum. And this way your feet won't get sore.

I know I won't have time right now to post all the photos I took at the National Gallery (I took quite a few...actually, I took quite a lot) but I will go ahead and start. Perhaps we should begin with two of my favorite depictions of the Fall of Adam. Here is the first:



Upon first observation, there is nothing particularly unique about this scene depicting the Fall of Man. But then I thought...hmmm, well you don't normally see a CAT in these sort of paintings. A lamb, yes. A lion, yes. A sheep, yes. A goat, yes. A cat? Unusual. As I continued to look at the painting I noticed a little face, sort of floating above Eve's head. See for yourself.

Little floating faces aren't all that uncommon in religious art - there are often little angels and cherubs hovering around the main figure in a religious painting. But then I noticed that the little face in THIS painting is actually attached to a serpent's body. The second I realized that I thought "OK, now that's just creepy." That creepy little blonde doll face on a snake body, sort of hovering over Adam and Eve, spying on them - it even has rosy cheeks! To be honest I would have found a normal snake head on a snake's body less creepy than the little doll face.

And here is the cat again. While it IS rather unusual for a cat to be in this painting, I love that it is there. But I love cats. I feel like I understand cats pretty well too - I can almost interpret their thoughts at times. For instance, right now, this cat, sitting next to Adam and Eve at a fairly significant moment in human history, is the ONLY one making eye contact with the viewer. It's sort of like the cat knows what we know...while Adam and Eve are still oblivious. The cat seems to be sort of resigned to what's happening, but if you look into his eyes, I think he is saying, "Idiots." I know that sounds harsh, and certainly I don't judge Adam and Eve so harshly. But you know how snobby cats can be.

And here is my favorite depction of the Fall of Adam. I think I like it because it is exactly how I have always seen it in my mind's eye. The Lord swoops in and says "Adam! What is this? What have you done?!" Then Adam, with a valiant shoulder shrug, sort of gestures at Eve who immediately points at the snake.

Here's the shrug.

And the finger pointing. But at least this serpent has a normal snake head instead of a doll face. And I apologize for the nudity. Gosh, Eve, get a shirt already. :)