Painted in 1425 by Masaccio ⓘ for the Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, this fresco marks a decisive moment in the birth of Renaissance painting. Opposite Masolino’s more courtly Temptation of Adam and Eve, Masaccio’s scene presents raw human anguish as Adam and Eve are driven from Eden by an angel.

The figures are monumental and weighty, modelled by a unified light source that aligns with the chapel’s natural illumination. Adam covers his face in shame; Eve cries out in grief. Their nudity expresses vulnerability rather than ideal beauty.

Through naturalistic anatomy, coherent space, and emotional realism, Masaccio broke from medieval stylisation and established a new visual language grounded in observation, gravity, and psychological truth.