The Temptation of Eve

1535–55

after Luca Penni

(Italian, 1500/04–1557)

Culture

France, 16th century

Medium

etching

Support

Cream(3) laid paper, laid down on blued white laid paper

Measurements

Sheet: 42.7 x 58.4 cm (16 13/16 x 23 in.); Secondary Support: 48.9 x 69.5 cm (19 1/4 x 27 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1985.54

Catalogue raisonné

Bartsch 3 (XVI.377)

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Location

Not on view

Description

In the 1540s Italian artist Luca Penni worked at the French king François I’s court at Fontainebleau. He created this image of the temptation of Eve (etched by Jean Mignon) by directly quoting Michelangelo’s figure of Eve from the Fall of Man scene on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The twisting serpent around the tree and the figure of Adam to the left—though altered from Michelangelo’s original—are still reminiscent of the earlier composition. Penni added his own unique elements, such as a landscape scene with animals and a decorative border featuring grotesques, cornucopias, and scrollwork.