French Literature Reviews - 2026

Virginie Ortega-Tillier, Le Jardin d'Eden. Iconographie et topographie dans la gravure (XVe-XVIIIe siècles)
Art and Visual Culture

The Earthly Paradise: a primordial nature, a garden of harmony and fertility... The cradle of Adam and Eve, planted in Eden, was extensively depicted in prints from the 15th to the 18th century.
The image thus serves as a space for meditation, a means of knowledge, and a source of delight: shifting from a purely biblical setting, the location becomes historical, geographical, spiritual, and aesthetic.
This essay explores how illustrators grappled with the text of Scripture. It highlights the tension between biblical authority and scientific progress, as seen in maps that, right up until the end of the 18th century, still placed the Earthly Paradise at the heart of real-world geography...

Virginie Ortega-Tillier holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Burgundy.

ISBN: 2-915552-20-7
ISSN: 1768-1936

The iconography of the Garden of Eden has long occupied a significant place at the intersection of religious theology and early modern visual culture. During the centuries spanning from the late medieval period to the Enlightenment, graphic arts frequently engaged with biblical topographies, translating sacred narratives into tangible visual forms. As printmaking techniques evolved, representations of primordial landscapes reflected broader shifts in how artists and intellectuals conceived of the natural world, balancing inherited scriptural traditions with emerging geographical sensibilities across Europe.

Readers interested in the history of printmaking, early modern iconography, and the visual interpretation of biblical texts may find this study relevant. Virginie Ortega-Tillier explores how illustrators grappled with the text of Scripture, highlighting the tension between biblical authority and scientific progress as seen in maps that placed the Earthly Paradise at the heart of real-world geography.