The Fall of Man

Description This depiction of the traditional subject of the "Fall of Man" in the Garden of Eden is extremely unusual because there is no serpent represented. Eve is represented as particularly sensuous and aggressive in offering the fruit to Adam, who does not take the fruit but who gestures in a way that indicated that he is arguing with Eve. Some theologians insisted that Eve was much more to blame than Adam; this painting responds to that line of thinking. Pietro Mera, to whom the painting has now been attributed, was one of the many Flemish painters working in Venice and surrounding art centers around 1600. Their sensitivity to landscape was greatly appreciated. The lushness of the landscape here reflects the tastes of his homeland.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
1/01/1900	Examination	examined for condition
4/30/1970	Treatment	examined for condition; inpainted; other
6/29/2009	Examination	examined for condition; other
9/01/2009	Treatment	cleaned; other; varnish removed or reduced

Provenance William T. / Henry Walters Collection, Baltimore, prior to 1909 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by William T. or Henry Walters, before 1909