The Expulsion from Paradise

The vivid colors and lush settings in this scene are reminiscent of the multisensory nature of Eastern Orthodox devotion: all senses participate in the religious experience, enhanced by the material qualities of both objects (luminosity, tactility, taste) and spaces (scent, sound). In the Byzantine tradition, which Old Believer iconography had largely preserved, icons and holy images concentrate light, a substantiation of the divine presence. In addition, colors are categorized by brilliance, not by hue, and in this respect green is considered as radiant as the gold leaf or other gold embellishments that adorn sacred images. Thus the predominant use of green here is doubly appropriate as it conveys both the natural abundance of the Garden of Eden and the radiance of the divine world.