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The Creation and the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, 1445
Giovanni di Paolo (Italian [Sienese], ca. 1400–1482)
Tempera and gold on wood; 18 1/4 x 20 1/2 in. (46.4 x 52.1 cm)
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.31)
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Description
Although the art of nearby Florence strove for naturalism, poetic invention characterized the art of Renaissance Siena. This highly refined panel, from the predella of the altarpiece that Giovanni di Paolo painted for the church of San Domenico in Siena, is widely admired for its mystical vitality. Today we have to unlock the meaning of its iconography, but when it was painted, the theological principles it expresses would have been clearly understood and recognized.

God the Father, supported by twelve cherubim, points to a circular mappamondo, a symbolic map of His creation. In the center of the map is the earth with its mountains and rivers. The earth is ringed with colored bands representing water, air, fire, the sun, the seven planets, and the stars of the zodiac. To the right of this visionary diagram of creation, another scene is taking place in a flowering meadow, against a row of trees laden with golden fruit. The angel is casting Adam and Eve out of Eden, and below them spring the four rivers of Paradise. Looking back to the mappamondo, we see these same four rivers flowing down from the tallest summit to every corner of the earth.

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