A powerful angel, draped in swirling red and gold fabric, descends from the upper left, arm outstretched in a commanding gesture toward two fleeing figures. Adam, with muscular limbs and wild hair, recoils in fear as he stumbles forward, his body twisted and his face turned back toward the angel. On the right edge, a gaunt living skeleton, its bones sharply defined, grasps Eve’s arm and pulls her away from the lush garden, its skull grinning and empty-eyed.

The background is filled with turbulent, swirling clouds, and the suggestion of architectural forms on the left hints at the lost paradise from which the couple is expelled. Light floods the scene from the left, illuminating the angel’s golden hair and casting dramatic highlights on the twisting bodies, while the right side falls into shadow where the skeleton lurks. The palette is dominated by earthy browns, ochres, and pale flesh tones, with the angel’s vivid red and gold garments providing a burst of color against the cooler sky.

Brushwork is energetic and expressive, with broad, visible strokes that create a sense of movement and urgency throughout the composition. Foreground foliage, rendered in loose, dark strokes, anchors the figures on a rocky outcrop and adds to the sense of wildness and chaos. The composition drives the viewer’s gaze diagonally from the angel’s commanding gesture down through the bodies of Adam and Eve to the skeletal figure, emphasizing the drama of the expulsion.

Every figure is caught in a moment of intense physical and emotional upheaval, their gestures and expressions heightening the sense of loss and terror. Expulsion from the Garden of Eden is painted by Peter Paul Rubens in 1620, depicting the biblical moment when Adam and Eve are driven from paradise. The subject is the expulsion from paradise, with Adam, Eve, an angel, and a living skeleton all present in the scene.