This is a painting by Thomas Cole featuring the banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. I actually saw this painting in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston a few weeks ago. The most striking thing about it is the contrast between the bright, sunny paradise of Eden, to the cold darkness of the outside world. As with many nature paintings we have seen, the entirety of the composition is dominated by the, in this case two, very different landscapes. Adam and Eve are depicted as tiny figures, completely overwhelmed by the dark world ahead of mountains and cliffs ahead of them and the brightly detailed Garden they are forced to leave behind. If you look closely at the right side, over the rock wall of the Garden, you can see all types of plants, flowers, and even animals. Then follow the path from the gate over the bridge to the barren rock completely void of nature and life, and you can see it is the polar opposite of paradise, a sort of hell on earth.
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