Return to Paradise

This painting depicts the artist's surrealistic vision of the concepts of sin and salvation, from the Old Testament, through the archetypes of his own dreams. The focal point of the painting is the red apple, which symbolizes the first sin, committed by Adam and Eve. The serpentine road up the mountain symbolizes the long way back to salvation, or, to paradise. The summit of the mountain is hidden from the human eye by misty clouds, emphasizing the mystery and elusiveness of paradise.

In "Return to Paradise", Victor Bregeda uses the elements of a landscape (a mountain, trees, a bird, and the light of the sky), in order to depict the two faces of Adam and Eve, in profile, looking at an apple. This depicts a symbolic triangle of man, woman, and sin. On the pathway, small human figures are pushing a huge red apple up the mountain. This symbolizes that once taken from the tree of wisdom, the apple should be brought back to paradise.

Victor illustrates here the thought that it would be difficult for only a few people to push the apple all the way up to the summit. Thus he shows additional figures on the way to help. He also implies that the viewer can consider him or herself as a part of this picture; the line of the pathway at the edge of the painting can be virtually continued toward the viewer. Thus Victor includes the viewer as also on the way to salvation.