Paradise Lost

Wenceslaus Hollar after Hans Holbein the Younger after Abraham van Diepenbeeck

National Gallery of Art

This print contains a central image with an angel, a skeleton, a man, and a woman. The central image is framed by columns with statues on them. One statue is of a male angel holding a scythe and hourglass, and the other is of a woman holding a thin hoop. There are also vases of flowers, candles, and a skeleton lying across the bottom next to a shovel and pickaxe. In the central image, a man and a woman appear to run towards the right, leaving a wooded area on the left. They are both nude, with furrowed brows and partially open mouths. On the right is a skeleton playing a cello or similar instrument. In the sky above, an angel emerges from swirling clouds, looking down at the running couple and wielding a long, curving sword. Below this central image and above the intricate border are a few lines of text.