The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

The Fall of Adam and Eve

1525, printed later

Hans Burgkmair

(German, 1473–1531)
Germany
woodcut on eight sheets of paper
Platemark: 95 x 65.4 cm (37 3/8 x 25 3/4 in.); Sheet: 95.7 x 66.2 cm (37 11/16 x 26 1/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1951.278
Catalogue raisonné: Hollstein V.96.291
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

In this second state of the print, Eve's nudity was covered with an olive leaf.

Description

This story of Adam and Eve occurs in a tropical location, placing the Garden of Eden closer to what viewers may have believed to be its true location. Palm trees were also associated with human virtues in devotional literature of the
time. The artist’s version of the Genesis story places the blame for human transgression squarely on Eve, who appears to persuade Adam to partake of the fruit, while a monkey, a symbol of bodily pleasure, mimics the humans by bringing fruit to its mouth. Since they were often hung on walls, like paintings, prints of this size rarely survive.
  • Prasse, Leona. "'The Fall of Adam and Eve' by Burgkmair." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 40, no. 6 (June 1953): 112-113. Reproduced: cover; Mentioned: p. 112 www.jstor.org
  • Love Gardens / Forbidden Fruit. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-October 29, 2023).
    Consuming Passions: The Art of Food and Drink. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 26-October 9, 1983).
    Old Master Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29, 1966-February 28, 1967).
    Prints and Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 6-September 9, 1965).
  • {{cite web|title=The Fall of Adam and Eve|url=false|author=Hans Burgkmair|year=1525, printed later|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.278