Tintoretto's Eve From The Tree Of Knowledge

Eve is the friction through the contemporary tale of Genesis by eating from the Tree of Knowledge when God forbids consumption. She is the scapegoat in an already flawed Eden created by someone who is to be this all-perfect, omniscient deity. Eve pioneers against the pioneer, God, in her ability to follow a different path than the sin-free path God desires; conversely, Adam assumes the position of a follower throughout Genesis. Eve provides her own signature of authorship through her “flaw”, that is, to sin. Sin in the context of Genesis is the acquisition of knowledge by questioning or disobeying the structure of those things placed by God. However, Adam’s acquisition of knowledge is by submitting to the structural hierarchy put in place

In Tintoretto’s portrayal of “The Fall”, Eve offers Adam the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge while he looks hesitant and still appalled even though this back is to the viewer. As she holds onto the Tree of Knowledge in this depiction, Eve also holds power in her ability to assert independence. Eve avoids mindless following while Adam retreats to his perception of knowledge that is the set of God’s ideas for him to follow. Any deviation from this set of structure and order throws Adam into a state of shock. In Blake’s more exaggerated version of “The Fall”, Eve appears to be force-fed sin by the serpent while Adam pleas to the skies. Adam immediately pleas to the hierarchal power in response to Eve acting on her intellectual curiosity. This depiction of Eve being bound by the snake appears to be something sinister and against her will, but this can be viewed as Eve embracing her idea of

However, Eve is entranced and staring at the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The painting displays Eve ignoring Adam’s “warning” because she is driven by the appeal and her appetite for the desire to know. The sin of knowledge to be depicted as a fruit speaks to Eve’s ability to do, experience, and ultimately act by eating. The fruit provides mental nourishment to feed Eve’s mind unlike Adam. Adam wants to serve with his body and let God lead his mind, and ultimately be the sole provider of knowledge. Despite these many renditions of “The Fall”, these paintings fill the gap of an already sparse narrative portraying Eve as a scapegoat for God’s flaws. In Genesis, Eve is told to be the one who eat from the tree and simply gives the fruit to her husband as well (Chapter 3, 6). Genesis reads that simply in the original scripture which conflicts with the multiple artistic portrayals explained prior. The only clear answer to this tension between what is written and what has been painted is that Eve is ultimately blamed for the fall of Eden. Eve, a powerful woman, does not fit into Eden’s role of a