Adam and Eve Reconciled c 1878 Paradise Lost Engraving after Melin

Description

Adam Forgives Eve engraving published in France c 1878, after a composition by Joseph-Urbain Melin and engraved by Pelée and Charles de Lalaisse.

Entitled “Le Pardon d’Adam,” or “Adam’s Forgiveness,” this large original steel engraving illustrates an episode from John Milton’s Paradise Lost in the celebrated French translation by François-René de Chateaubriand.

Following the Fall and the eating of the forbidden fruit, Eve kneels before Adam and asks for his forgiveness. Adam stands beside a monumental tree and receives her gesture with a mixture of tenderness, sorrow and contemplation. The composition therefore depicts reconciliation between the first man and woman rather than their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

The idealised treatment of the nude figures, the carefully observed anatomy and the luxuriant natural setting reflect the French academic and Romantic tradition of the mid-nineteenth century. The finely engraved flesh, vegetation and shaded background demonstrate the exceptional precision obtainable through steel engraving.

The inscriptions printed beneath the image provide a clear attribution:

– “Melin pinx.”: composition by Joseph-Urbain Melin
– “Pelée & Ch. Lalaisse sculp.”: engraved by Pelée and Charles de Lalaisse
– “Le Pardon d’Adam”: original French title

Joseph-Urbain Melin was a French painter born in 1814 and active during the nineteenth century. Pelée and Charles de Lalaisse translated his composition into an exceptionally detailed engraved image.

This work must not be confused with the illustrations of Paradise Lost by Gustave Doré. It is an original steel engraving after Joseph-Urbain Melin, not a wood engraving.

Details:

– Original title: Le Pardon d’Adam
– English title: Adam’s Forgiveness
– Subject: Adam forgiving Eve after the Fall
– Literary source: Paradise Lost by John Milton
– Artist: Joseph-Urbain Melin
– Engravers: Pelée and Charles de Lalaisse
– Publication date: 1878
– Origin: France
– Technique: steel engraving
– Colour: black and white
– Overall sheet size: 41.2 × 29.5 cm
– Engraved image size: 32.3 × 23.5 cm
– Original antique book illustration