The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise
Benjamin West1791
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Washington, DC, United States
By 1779, Benjamin West had conceived his life's "great work," intending to rebuild the Royal Chapel at Windsor Castle as a shrine to Revealed Religion. After sponsoring the elaborate scheme for two decades, George III abruptly canceled it in 1801. Though the overall project was abandoned, many individual paintings, including this nine–foot–long _Expulsion_, were completed.
The Book of Genesis does not state how the first man and woman were expelled from Eden, but artists usually portray the Archangel Michael as the agent of the Lord's wrath. The sinners wear fur robes because God clothed them in "coats of skins" so that they could stand unashamed in his presence. The serpent, now cursed among creatures, slithers away on its belly to eat dust. The sharp beam of light overhead refers to the "flaming sword" in Genesis.
West's _Expulsion_ contains two motifs not found in Genesis or any traditional pictures of the theme: an eagle swoops upon a helpless bird, and a lion chases frightened horses. In general terms, such beasts of prey imply the destruction of harmony that resulted from Original Sin. Regardless of any further symbolism, West's artistic treatment foretells the new romantic style with its theatrical gestures, rich paint textures, and clashes of blinding light and shadowy darkness.
More information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication _American Paintings of the Eighteenth Century_, pages 296-297, which is available as a free PDF at <u>https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/american-paintings-18th-century.pdf</u>
- Title: The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise
- Creator: Benjamin West
- Date Created: 1791
- Physical Dimensions: overall: 186.8 x 278.1 cm (73 9/16 x 109 1/2 in.)
- Provenance: Painted for King George III of England but never delivered;[1] ownership rights returned in 1828 by King George IV to the artist's sons, Raphael Lamar West [1766-1850] and Benjamin West, Jr. [1772-1848]; (sale, George Robins, London, 22-25 May 1829, 4th day, no. 154); bought by Smith, apparently for Raphael West;[2] (sale, George Robins, London, 16 July 1831, no. 40).[3] Private collection, Yorkshire, England;[4] (sale, Phillips, Son & Neale, London, 13 December 1988, no. 35);[4] (Thomas Agnew and Sons, London); purchased 27 February 1989 by NGA. [1] The painting is listed in West's manuscript account for 1797 of works painted for George III, with the price of £525 (Historical Society of Pennsylvania), and in his 1801 account, printed as the first appendix to John Galt, _The Life, Studios, and Works of Benjamin West, Esq., President of the Royal Academy_, 2 vols. [reproduced, two vols. in one, as _The Life of Benjamin West_, Intro. by Nathalia Wright, Gainesville, Florida, 1960], London, 1820: 209, "The Account of Pictures painted by Benjamin West for His Majesty, by his Gracious Commands, from 1768 to 1780. A True Copy from Mr. West's Account Books, with their several Charges and Dates"; see Helmut Von Erffa and Allen Staley, _The Paintings of Benjamin West_, New Haven and London, 1986 286, and for a discussion of these accounts, 159-160, 579. [2] George Robins, _A Catalogue Raisonné of the Unequalled Collection of Historical Pictures, and Other Admired Compositions, the Works of the revered and highly-gifted Painter, the late Benjamin West, Esq._, [22-25 May 1829], London, 1829: 46; Von Erffa and Staley 1986: 286. [3] George Robins, _A Catalogue of Nine Pictures, of the First Class; the genuine property of Mr. Raphael West_, [16 July 1831], London, 1831: 7. [4] According to the 1988 sale catalogue, the ancestor of this owner probably purchased the painting at the 1831 sale.
- Rights: CC0
- Medium: oil on canvas
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