Adam and Eve after the Expulsion (after Paulo Veronese and studio)
- Artist: David Teniers II
- Date: 1650-56
- Medium: oil on panel
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the “Adam and Eve after the Expulsion (after Paulo Veronese and studio)” painted by David Teniers II between 1650 and 1656, an oil on panel. The work is part of the famous Theatrum Pictorium that Teniers published in 1660. That catalogue was the first printed, illustrated inventory of a major collection – the holdings of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, governor of the Southern Netherlands from 1646 to 1656. During his tenure, the Archduke amassed over 1,300 paintings, many of them Italian Renaissance masterpieces.
Teniers’ role was to create faithful small copies of these originals. He worked directly from the master works on tiny wooden panels, capturing the composition, color, and detail in miniature. These panels were then sent to specialist engravers who reproduced them as prints for the publication. The result was a printed “theatre” that allowed scholars and connoisseurs to see a curated selection of the Archduke’s collection.
Today, the Courtauld Institute holds 14 of these copies – the largest number in any public collection – underscoring their value. They are an indispensable record of paintings that have since been altered or lost, and they showcase Teniers’ remarkable skill and the growing 17th‑century interest in the art of the past.
See it in person
Adam and Eve after the Expulsion (after Paulo Veronese and studio) hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
