THE BIBLE IN PAINTINGS: #3, The Temptation of Adam & Eve

Here is the Bing page "ADAM & EVE'S TEMPTATION IN ART" showing various painters' conceptions of God's creation of Eve. Several are serious works worthy of interest. Some examples:

I am surveying "Bible art" for my own amusement (at the Spirit's prompting) and thought others might enjoy it, too. Various artists' conceptions enrich my own thoughts about biblical incidents. My intent is to proceed methodically left-to right, Genesis to Revelation. Back soon with another.

The Bible encourages us to meditate on it (Ps. 1:1-3, 119:11-16, etc.), and these artists have done so and their works can assist us. But it is not only oil-on-canvas that can so help us; I refer to the astonishing video series The Chosen, which strolls through the four Gospels at the most leisurely pace. The eight episodes of Season 1 are finished, and the second of a planned seven or eight seasons is coming soon. I say "leisurely" because after an entire year Jesus still has only seven of the apostles (although He's preparing to call up Thomas from the minor leagues--but Thomas is skeptical). Anticipating a canvas of fifty-plus hours instead of a movie's paltry two hours, The Chosen turns the characters into three-dimensional humans and brings the Gospels alive.

With the subject of Eve's Temptation, I cannot refrain from recommending CS Lewis' finest work (in his own opinion as expressed to his biographer), Perelandra, the middle book of his Space Trilogy. Its core is the most profound and imaginative dialogue ever written, twenty pages of Satan tempting and Eve resisting.

I'm a looooooong way in this series from the NT, but I'm struck by that, too. From your post #25 in your linked thread:

I cannot express to you how moving the original was to me...Then seeing that Mercer's St. Joseph was not sleeping made my heart leap with joy because it reinforced my own view, that St Joseph was not some silent old man but a bedrock of strength.

Well said! God picked and guided the right parents for His Son.

I had a similar experience when I encountered Rodin's life-sized Head of John the Baptist

at LACMA about fifteen years ago--I'm still shaken by it.

WONDERFUL...Great art, be it ancient or modern, makes you THINK.

In these instances, once can see his/her insignificance...and potential. A simple just man like St Joseph can be hand-picked by God to be the foster-father of Our Lord, and he took action vs worried and moved them across the sands to safety. Of what good am I?

But it is BECAUSE God picks "simple" people to do epic things whereby we can ALL think big thoughts.

Thank you...I look forward to your posts.

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