Artwork
De zondeval
De zondeval is an unspecified painting by the Mannerist artist Cornelis van Haarlem. It dates from 1592 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The painting depicts the biblical episode of the Fall, showing Adam and Eve in a verdant garden as they reach for the forbidden fruit.
About this work
Technique & Style
Stylistically, the piece reflects the Northern Mannerist movement, characterized by highly stylized figures and grotesque, unnatural anatomy.
Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem executed *De zondeval* (The Fall of Man) in 1592 as an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 273 × 220 cm, representing a large-scale format typical of the artist's early mannerist period. Stylistically, the piece reflects the Northern Mannerist movement, characterized by highly stylized figures and grotesque, unnatural anatomy. The composition features Italianate nudes arranged in twisted, contorted poses, diverging from the naturalist tradition he would later adopt. This approach aligns with the influence of Bartholomeus Spranger, whose drawings significantly impacted the Haarlem Mannerists. The painting's formal qualities emphasize artificiality and complexity over realistic proportion, showcasing the artist's initial focus on mythological and biblical subjects rendered with exaggerated physical forms.
History & Provenance
Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem created De zondeval in 1592. The work is an oil painting on canvas measuring 273 × 220 cm. It is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The artist, a leading figure of the Haarlem Mannerists, produced this biblical subject during a period characterized by large-scale compositions featuring stylized, Italianate nudes with twisted poses. This specific work exemplifies his early style before his later shift toward a more naturalistic approach based on Netherlandish realist traditions.
De zondeval (1592) by Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem is held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. According to the French-language catalogue of the artist's works, the painting is an oil on canvas measuring 273 × 220 cm and is titled La Chute de l'Homme, with Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum listed as its location.
No inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history specific to this work is documented beyond its inclusion in the artist's oeuvre.
Context
Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem (1562-1638) was a leading Northern Mannerist painter and draughtsman, one of the foremost portraitists of his generation and an important precursor to Frans Hals. His work, exemplified by De zondeval (1592), reflects the stylised, Italianate nudes and grotesque anatomy of early Mannerism, later evolving toward a more naturalistic Netherlandish realism. As a key member of the Haarlem Academy alongside Hendrick Goltzius and Karel van Mander, he helped shape a generation of artists who exchanged ideas on drawing from life and studying classical sculpture. His influence extended through teaching notable pupils such as Salomon de Bray and Cornelis Jacobsz Delff, and through his role in reforming the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke in 1630. Paintings by van Haarlem are held in major institutions including the Rijksmuseum, the Louvre, the National Gallery in London, and the Frans Hals Museum, where De zondeval is part of the collection. His marriage to Maritgen Arentsdr Deyman in the early 1600s and inheritance of a substantial estate further underscore his integration into Haarlem’s civic and artistic elite.
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Artist
Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem (Dutch:; 1562 – 11 November 1638) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and draughtsman, one of the leading Northern Mannerist artists in the Netherlands, and an important forerunner of Frans Hals as a…
