MICHELANGELO Buonarroti
(b. 1475, Caprese, d. 1564, Roma)

The Fall

1509-10
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

On the left, in a space delimited by the leafy boughs of the tree standing out against the bright sky, and the moderate diagonal formed by the rocks, beyond the trunk of a dead tree, a colloquy of gestures takes place between the tempting serpent - which has assumed the appearance of a woman - and Adam and Eve, with their youthful, athletic bodies, bathed in rosy light.