Creation The Expulsion fra Paradis

 
Holbein: Temptation and Fall  
 

Temptation and Fall

Holbein: Temptation and Fall
Holbein: Temptation and Fall (August 1524)

T he serpent has a woman's head according to contemporary taste.

The scenes from The Old Testament are not included in the Holbein's dance of death alphabet, but back in 1524 Holbein had designed an alphabet with themes from The Old Testament cut in metal (picture to the right).

Holbein: The Old Testament
Holbein: Serpent or carrot?
Holbein: Illustrations from The Old Testament
Holbein: Genesis kap. 2 & 3
Holbein had also produced a series of illustrations from The Old Testament. To the left is the picture of Temptation and Fall, and quite frankly, it's not very good — the serpent looks like an overgrown carrot!

Publishers of Bibles and Bible picture books often found it expedient to skip the carrot-picture and instead complement the series with the first four pictures from the dance of death: Creation, Temptation and Fall, The Expulsion from Paradise and Life After the Fall. The picture to the right is from a picture book from 1547 with Holbein's illustrations from The Old Testament — spiffed up with sundry Bible quotes and didactic poems.

Variations: Aldegrever as usual makes a free interpretation, and Eberhard Kieser copies Aldegrever.
Birckmann's picture is very different, and he's copied by Valvasor.
Bewick reduces the number of animals — including the monkey that sets Eve's hair.
Anderson deliberately skips the picture of Adam and Eva.

Holbein's Imagines Mortis: Temptation and Fall
Les Simulachres (1538)
Aldegrever: Temptation and Fall
Aldegrever (1541)
Vogtherr 1544: Temptation and Fall
Vogtherr (1544)
Birckmann 1555: Temptation and Fall
Birckmann (1555)
Scharffenberg 1578: Temptation and Fall
Scharffenberg (1578)
Eberhard Kieser imaginibus: Temptation and Fall
Eberhard Kieser (1617)
Hollar 1651: Temptation and Fall
Hollar (1651)
Theatrum mortis humanae tripartitum: Temptation and Fall
Valvasor (1682)
Mechel 1780: Temptation and Fall
Mechel (1780)
Bewick 1789: Temptation and Fall
Bewick (1789)
Deuchar 1788: Temptation and Fall
Deuchar (1788)
Bechstein 1831: Temptation and Fall
Bechstein (1831)

Creation The Expulsion fra Paradis Up to Holbein's great dance of death