Masolino da Panicale - The Temptation of Adam and Eve (1425)
- Title: The Temptation of Adam and Eve
- Artist: Masolino da Panicale (1383-1477)
- Date: 1425
- Medium: Fresco
- Dimensions: 208 x 88 cm
- Location: Brancacci Chapel, Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy
"The Temptation of Adam and Eve" or "Original Sin" is a work by Masolino from around 1424-1425. The fresco shows a famous scene from the Old Testament, namely when the serpent from the book of Genesis tries to convince Adam and Eve to break the rules. This episode, set in the late Gothic style, is characterized by the light, which shapes the figures in a soft and enveloping way, just as if they emanated a diffuse glow. In addition, the dark background enhances the sensual plasticity of the nudes of the two sinners.
Masolino’s “Temptation of Adam and Eve” represents a progression in the portrayal of nudity, aiming for increased naturalism and fully embracing the depiction of the human form. The fresco can be found in the same Brancacci Chapel as Masaccio's "Expulsion of the progenitors from Eden" of 1424, a representation of nudity in Renaissance which predates slightly Masolino's.
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