Rudolf Jettmar (1869-1939) Symbolist Artist: Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden

eBay Austria has an interesting listing this morning by the famous Symbolist painter Rudolf Jettmar (1869-1939). The title is "The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden." It is composed of two of my favorite themes in art: "The Nude" and "Adam & Eve." The mythology of Adam and Eve is but a good opportunity for an artist to bring together both the male and the female nudes in one composition, something not often seen in purely academic art. The theme itself has a long history in Art and has been worked and reworked until it has become a cliche, however, an enjoyable cliche to me.

Rudolf Jettmar was a Viennese painter and print maker who was born in Poland in the mid 19th century. In fact he was a founding member of the Vienna Secession and created many works for the groups magazine. Jettmar was an important representative of the European Symbolist Movement. In 1895 he took the Prix de Rome and studied for six months in Italy. The main themes of his works are drawn from mythology, always using the human figure, nude and clothed, against a background of moody heroic landscapes. In 1911 he was made Professor of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and until 1914 was at the heart of Viennese Art. In 1925 he took over the position of Professor of the general painting course at the academy. Jettmar was also an accomplished chamber musician and that influence can be readily seen in his compositions and use of color.
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Here are but a few of Jettmar's works:

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