Artwork Page for Adam and Eve

Details / Information for Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve

1519

Hans Baldung

(German, 1484/85–1545)
Culture
Germany
Medium
woodcut
Measurements
Image: 25.2 x 9.7 cm (9 15/16 x 3 13/16 in.); Sheet: 25.2 x 9.7 cm (9 15/16 x 3 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1966.6
Catalogue raisonné
Karlsruhe 2 ; Hollestein II.75.2
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

In Hans Baldung’s later rendition of Adam and Eve the reduction of setting—in which the Garden of Eden is reduced to a tree—brings the focus to the bodies of Adam and Eve and their physical interaction and desire. Baldung even eliminated the serpent, instead introducing a sinister element in the near-predatory Adam, cast in deep shadow as if emerging from the darkness. With such spare imagery overall, it is the audience, by looking, that is implicated in the first couple’s original sin and guilt.
A vertically oriented woodcut in black ink on cream paper depicts Adam on the left and Eve on the right, a nude man and woman with light skin tones, defined muscles, and wavy hair, standing before a thick tree. Adam stands behind Eve, resting a hand on her shoulder. Eve holds a fruit in each hand, a leafy branch covering her groin. The date 1519 and a tablet with initials appear at their feet.

Adam and Eve

1519

Hans Baldung

(German, 1484/85–1545)
Germany

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