Wednesday, 7 October 2026

The cat, the goat and the serpent among the details of a painting of Adam and Eve

Share
In the painting, a nude Adam and Eve recline under a tree, a cat lies at their feet, and goats stand to the right against a landscape.

The Fall of Man, Hendrick Goltzius, 1616.

I cannot decide which detail is my favourite: the cat who would rather not witness this disgrace, the peeping goat, or the rosy-cheeked serpent-tempter with the face of Jennifer Coolidge. But it is certainly not Adam and Eve, straight off the substitutes' bench of lovers

Report a translation error