Fig in Paradise: Cranach, Masolino, and Michelangelo
In a new essay for doppiozero, Marco Belpoliti and Anita Romanello explore the fig's place in artistic depictions of the Tree of Knowledge. Cranach the Elder's 'Paradise' (1530) shows both an apple and a fig, reflecting Genesis 3:7. Masolino da Panicale and Michelangelo similarly situated Adam and Eve beneath fig trees. The identity of the forbidden fruit remains debated, but artists attest to the fig's presence in Eden. The xerophytic Ficus carica, part of the Moraceae family, was domesticated as early as the Neolithic. The piece connects biblical narrative, art history, and botany.
Key facts
- Cranach the Elder's 'Il Paradiso' (1530) shows the Tree of Knowledge with an apple on the right and a fig on the left.
- The painting follows Genesis 3:7, where Adam and Eve sew fig leaves.
- Masolino da Panicale frescoed the Brancacci Chapel with Adam and Eve under a fig tree.
- Michelangelo included a fig tree in the Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508-12).
- The identity of the forbidden fruit remains uncertain.
- The fig tree's scientific name is Ficus carica, of the Moraceae family.
- It is a xerophytic plant.
- Fig domestication dates to the Neolithic.
Entities
Artists
- Lucas Cranach the Elder
- Masolino da Panicale
- Michelangelo Buonarroti
- Marco Belpoliti
- Anita Romanello
Locations
- Brancacci Chapel
- Sistine Chapel