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Adam and Eve is the title of two famous works in different media byAlbrecht Dürer, a German artist of theNorthern Renaissance: anengraving made in 1504, and a pair ofoil-on-panel paintings completed in 1507. The1504 engraving depictsAdam and Eve in theGarden of Eden, surrounded by several symbolic animals.[1] The engraving transformed how Adam and Eve were popularly depicted in art.[2]
The 1507 painting in theMuseo del Prado offered Dürer another opportunity to depict the ideal human figure in a different medium.[3] Painted in Nuremberg soon after his return from Venice, the panels were influenced by Italian art.[3] Dürer's observations on his second trip to Italy provided him with new approaches to portraying the human form. Here, he depicts the figures at human scale—the firstfull-scale nude subjects in German painting.[3]
Dürer continually sought perfection of form in his work.[4] He traveled to Italy to study theItalian Renaissance masters and incorporate their techniques into his art.[3] His first visitedVenice in n 1494 where he studied artists such asGiovanni Bellini (who he met),Andrea Mantegna,Antonio del Pollaiuolo,Leonardo da Vinci, and others.[4] One work of art that particularly captured his attention wasThe Birth of Venus (c. 1484–1486) bySandro Botticelli.[3][4] In addition, he was greatly influenced by two ancient classical marble sculptures (both copied after Greek Hellenistic sculptures, now lost) that illustrate the concept of ideal male and female beauty: theApollo Belvedere (just rediscovered in the 1490s[5]) and theMedici Venus, though Dürer likely discovered these works through second-hand sources, the Apollo for example through an engraving by Nicoletto da Modena of c.1500 or the engraving ofApollo and Diana made byJacopo de' Barbari around 1503 probably in Nuremberg.[1][4][6] This image featured the intricately modeled figure ofApollo in classicalcontrapposto, inspiring Dürer's interpretation of Adam.[3] Similarly, in Botticelli'sThe Birth of Venus, the figure ofVenus acted as a model for Dürer's later renditions ofEve.[4] Raptured by newfound inspiration, Dürer returned toNuremberg.
In 1500 Jacopo de' Barbari came to Nuremberg to serveMaximilian I as a court painter. He introduced Dürer to theVitruvian canon of body proportions andlinear perspective.[7] But Dürer wasn't satisfied and began studies of his own, measuring countless living models (of both men and animals).[5] He summarised his techniques in hisFour Books on Human Proportion, and in 1504 completed his first engraving ofAdam and Eve (burin on copperplate, 25.1 x 19.8 cm).[8]
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Dürer drew his first full frontalFemale Nude in 1493 after a living model,[9] and several subsequent nudes seen from the back, among them an early depiction of Adam and Eve before the Fall.[10] Elaborated works were the drawing of the women in theWomen's Bath (1496) and the engraving ofThe Four Naked Women (1497). These early female nudes were followed by studies of figures with constructed body proportions, even the outlines drawn with ruler and compass, first theReclining Nude and the engraving of theNemesis, both from 1501. But the only figure of which the pose relates closely to the Eve is the Venus in the engraving ofThe Dream of the Doctor (c. 1498), a refined version of one of theFour Naked Women, the body mirrored, now in idealcontrapposto with lowered shoulder over the supporting leg, the other leg free to move.
As for the Adam, there are several works that followed the same antetype and were likely preparatory. The most prominent one isApollo with the Solar Disc, one of Dürer's early male figures designed according to classical proportions,[11] where he seemed to have copied de' Barbari freely in showing Diana from behind at Apollo's feet, who is depicted asSol, since Diana, as a moon goddess, tries to protect herself from his light conquering the day. Dürer obviously was not satisfied, since he didn't finish the drawing. The Apollo he drew again, this time with a bow.[12] Another closely linked study drawing is theMale Nude with Glass and Snake (also calledAsclepius) with traces of extensive use of ruler and compass.[13]
His final interpretation of de' Barbari's rather abstractApollo and Diana is way superior to the original, provoking an emotional impact on the beholder by having the imposing, concentrated and slightly twisted figure of Apollo occupying more than half the space with parts of his hair, his bow and arrow being cut off. Diana is also more prominent, facing the beholder while feeding a deer lying to her feet. But beside his muscularity and the finely tuned textures there is no similarity to the posture of the Adam. The Apollo has even been finished later and is an advancement compared to the Adam, harmonizing classical stature with Northern emotion.
Theengraving captures an idealistic Adam and Eve before theFall of Man.[1][14] Adam and Eve are depicted as the ideal body shape of both man and woman respectively.[3] This engraving was one of the first depictions of Adam and Eve that focused on human physical beauty rather than the depiction ofsin, causing many artists to later draw inspiration from this perspective shift.[6] As the first man and woman sculpted byGod, Adam and Eve serve as the perfect characters to embody the ideal human figure.[6]
Both figures are nude and posed in antiquecontrapposto. They are shown full frontal, with their heads in profile facing each other, accentuated by a slight tilt of their bodies. Since he wanted to show these ideal specimen of men there is no overlapping of the figures and can each be seen in full view, except for their genitals, which had to be covered. Dürer, wielding an astonishing technical sophistication, uses the engraved line work to play with light and dark shadows, illuminating the pale skin and modeling the musculature of each body.[6] The bright figures stand out in front of the dark background of the forest that (nearly) completely fills the plate, just like oil paint covers a panel all over.[15]
Dürer made separate preparatory drawings for each figure. Two trial proofs survived that he printed while he was still working on the engraving. They show his specific proceedings in both working stages. The unique trial prints reveal, besides the scrupulously incremental procedure, for example, that the cat was only added later. In the case of the drawings he first constructed a body with ruler and compass on one side of a sheet. Then he traced the outlines of the figure onto the reverse, where he modeled the actual three-dimensional body with hatchings, and washed a dark background with a brush. Contrary to the Adam, Dürer hadn't found the right pose for the Eve yet,[5] but it seemed to be clear, that he didn't want to follow the model of theVenus pudica, which covers her breast.
In a later stage two sheets with figure studies of both figures he joined with a third strip of paper, afterwards washing the background resulting in a single image. The apple Adam still holds in his hand, now corresponds with the one in Eve's hand, as if the sin was evenly shared. In the final engraving nevertheless Eve will be responsible.
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Adam is depicted more lean, muscular and about the height of the forehead larger than Eve,[15] while her body is more supple and rounded.[4] Dürer gained the "silken softness" of her skin through finer graded lines that in part "dissolve in stipples, and [by] add[ing] a third series of curves" which densifies the hatching patterns.Erwin Panofsky estimated "twice or three times as many lines per square inch as in earlier [engravings]." This technique he had trained since around 1500 expanded the spectrum of light values on both ends and allowed even more detailed and differentiated textures.[16]
Adam and Eve are shown in theGarden of Eden.[3] As the image is a depiction of humanity before the Fall, everything remains in perfect harmony. Placed directly between the pair of figures stands afig tree, theTree of Knowledge, but is represented here, as was usual, as a hybrid since the fruit of the tree isapple.[1][2][4][17] Eve is offered a fruit by the snake and holds in her left hand already one tied to a broken branch with fig leaves that cover her genitals.[1][2][17] It is a direct reference to the shame that Adam and Eve would experience after the Fall, as described in Genesis 3:7: "And the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons."[4] TheForbidden Fruit in her left (sinister in Latin) hand, that she is about to share with Adam, symbolizesevil.[2][4] Adam's genitals are covered by a shoot of amountain ash that frames the left side of the picture. The tree symbolizes theTree of Life.
On the tree above the plaque with Dürer's autograph sits aparrot. Since around 1500 Dürer had an increased interest in animals and plants, of which he made many drawings and watercolors.[18] The famousGreat Piece of Turf for example, theYoung Hare, and theWing of a Blue Roller are from that time, but also a drawing of a parrot, that very much resembles the one in the engraving.Parrots can symbolize different ideas, including:wisdom, theWord of God,Christ,eternal life, andparadise. But it could also refer to theNew World.[1][4] At this time, thecolonization of the New World was in full swing and certain objects from the Americas came to symbolize paradise, as Europeans had come to believe paradise would be found in the Americas.[19] Thus, certain objects that originated from the New World became common symbols of paradise in art, a possible meaning for the parrot represented here.[19] Moreover, it is known through his diary writings that Dürer saw and even collected exotic items from the East (the Orient), as well as the Americas while on trips to both Italy andFlanders.[20] Some of these marvelous objects included a large fishbone, porcelain dishes from China, while other items like cloths (some made out of silk), feathers, an ivory salt-cellar came from "Calicut," which in the Renaissance was a catch-all term that could reference India, Africa or the Americas, indicating a geographical misunderstanding of the wider world.[20]
Around Adam and Eve lie four animals representing thefour humors or temperaments.[6] The cat symbolizes thecholeric humor, the rabbit the sanguine (from Latinsanguineus, "of blood": vivacious) temperament, the oxphlegmatic humor, while the elk representsmelancholy.[1] Although the contemporary belief was that an imbalance of bodily fluids caused undesirable humors,[4] in Eden, everything is in perfect harmony.[1][6] Visually, this is represented by the peaceful cohabitant nature of the animals: the cat is not pouncing on the mouse, the ox is sitting calmly.[4] This representation of balanced harmony, however, would be forever destroyed oncethe Fall occurred.[6] Finally, the relationship of the mouse and feline at the feet of the figures parallels that of Adam and Eve.[21]
The small plaque (cartellino in Italian) is his first inscription in an engraving written inLatin,[14] it reads "Albert Dürer noricvs faciebat 1504," which translates to "Albrecht Dürer of Nuremberg was making [this in] 1504."[1] Despite Dürer's fascination with Italian art, this inscription demonstrates his pride regarding his Northern heritage, clearly identifying his hometown as the German city of Nuremberg (Noricus in Latin).[1] Moreover, Dürer is subtly flaunting the immortality of his work since the plaque is attached to the Tree of Life.[6]
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Dürer's treatment of the theme followed in 1510 with a light but intimate ink drawing, where Adam and Eve are unusually shown from behind, turned away from the viewer, embracing each other. They are depicted as lovers and about to share a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The figure of Eve with her crossed legs relates to the images of the Fall and the Expulsion from Paradise featured in theSmall Passion. But in the Fall Eve is turned around again, while in the Expulsion the figures are in motion. The snake which the lovers ignore has a female torso instead of its head, an Italian motif.[22]
During his lifetime, the copper engraving ofAdam and Eve was printed many times, resulting in multiple extant prints in different collections.[1][4][6] In addition, unauthorized copies of his print were made during Dürer's lifetime inFlorence, Italy, now at theUffizi, and for example one made inMainz, Germany, during the time ofNapoleon.[2][3]
Original prints (not seldom in several copies) are held at theGraphic Art Collection of the City of Nuremberg, the Kupferstichkabinetts inBerlin andDresden, theStädel Museum in Frankfurt, theAlbertina in Vienna, theBritish Museum in London, theRijksmuseum Amsterdam,National Museum in Warsaw, theIsrael Museum in Jerusalem and other institutions. In the US prints are found at theLibrary of Congress, theMetropolitan Museum of Art andthe Morgan Library & Museum in New York, theMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston, theArt Institute of Chicago, theCincinnati Art Museum, theHarvard Art Museums, theMinneapolis Institute of Art, thePhiladelphia Museum of Art, theYale University Art Gallery, among others.
After the creation of the engraving of 1504, Dürer revisited the subject of Adam and Eve after a second visit to Italy, when he spent most of his time inVenice to further studyItalian Renaissance paintings.[3][23] During his two years in Venice, from 1505 until 1507, Dürer analyzed various techniques and famous works of art, developing his use of classical Italian contrapposto.[8] Returning to Nuremberg with his newly acquired skill and knowledge, Dürer painted in 1507 what is considered to be the first life-sized nude painting inGerman art,Adam and Eve (oil on wood, 209 x 81 cm per panel).[3]
Dürer believed the way to paint the ideal human form was through a precise mathematical system ofproportions.[17] In hisoil painting ofAdam and Eve, Dürer altered the proportions of the head to the body of Eve's figure from the 1:7.4ratio of the engraving to 1:8.2.[3] This alteration visually elongated Eve's body, providing her with a slender, weightless quality.[23] This weightlessness was typical ofGothic figure depictions, illuminating a stylistic shift from the classical contrapposto of the engraving figures.[3][4] This can further be seen in the positioning of the limbs: Eve's legs are crossed, one directly behind the other rather than the more grounded-appearing side by side stance as seen in the engraving.[3] This new means of depicting Eve became a template for many later female nude paintings.[8] Adam's figure, however, remains incontrapposto, still reminiscent of the classical depictions of Apollo.[24] Both figures are presented more androgynously than in the 1504 engraving, likely the result of a return to a more Gothic style.[4]
Lighting is also strategically used to emphasize the figures. Adam is bathed in warm light, contrasting Eve who is bathed in cool toned, almost slivery, light.[3] The color palette as a whole is strategic, using subtle light and dark shadows to minimize contrast and allow the painting a subtly.[3] This choice is in opposition to the 1504 engraving where, due to the nature of the material, everything is sharp with high contrast.[17] In the oil painting, Adam holds a tree branch, meant to symbolize the mountain ash that symbolizes theTree of Life just as the branch in the engraving does.[17][24] Eve rests her hand above a branch where acartellino hangs withLatin writing that reads,"Albertus durer alemanus faciebat post virginis partum 1507," ("Albrecht Dürer, upper German, made this 1507 years after the Virgin's offspring.")[3]
The painting consists of two separate rectangular panels: one of Adam and one of Eve.[3] While the engraving of 1504 communicates the story of the Fall of Man, the oil painting is primarily focused on the individual figures of Adam and Eve, emphasized by the lack of intricate background and symbolism.[3][17] The actual reason behind Dürer's choice to paint Adam and Eve separately remains unknown, however, it was one of the first works of art to create a division of the subjects, an artistic choice that many later artists copied.[3]
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The oil painting of 1507 were completed on wooden panels. Wood and paint have complex aging processes, leading to difficulty in bothconservation and restoration.[25] Over time, multiple attempts at restoration led to the addition of layers of new paint and oxidizedvarnish, which in turn distorted the original image.[25] Moreover, the back of the wooden panels had been reinforced in an attempt to prevent warping of wood.[25] Unfortunately, these reinforcements ultimately had the opposite effect, distorting the panels further.[25]The Met and theMuseo del Prado collaborated to restore the painting to its original condition in 2020.[25] Removing the back support panels, smoothing the wood, removing oxidized varnish, and finally taking off additional attempts at restorative painting touch-ups, the painting was returned to what is believed to be its original state.[25] Due to the oxidized varnish, the image previously had an overall green hue. Now, that green hue is gone and the colors are as Dürer painted them.[25]
There is no extant archival documents that shed light on the original patron of Dürer's series.[26] Scholars suggest that they may have been commissioned for the Town Hall inNuremberg, Dürer's hometown, as they were installed there at the end of the sixteenth century.[26] In turn, the Nuremberg City Council gifted them toEmperor Rudolph II who displayed them in his new gallery room atPrague Castle.[26]
During theThirty Years' War when the Sweeds stormed Nuremberg in 1648 during theBattle of Prague[26] their armies plundered the castle and moved the panels toStockholm where they entered the collection ofGustavus Adolphus of Sweden.[26] His daughter,Christina of Sweden, gave the work toPhilip IV of Spain in 1654, after herabdication.[26] The works moved next toThe Royal Palace of Madrid, but were considered "nudes" so were relocated and displayed in a separate room known as the "Vaults of Titian."[26] This vault survived the fire in 1734 that destroyed much of the palace and its art.[26] The paintings were then transported to theBuen Retiro palace.[26]
In 1762, if not for the persuasion ofAnton Raphael Mengs,King Charles III of Spain's court painter, they would have been destroyed as they viewed the nudity as "indecent".[26] Mengs convinced the king that the panels were artistically important.[26] About ten years later, the paintings were moved to theAcademia de San Fernando for storage.[26] The remained stored there for several decades until exhibited at the Sala de Juntas between 1809 and 1818, during the rule ofJose Bonaparte.[26] In 1827, the two panels were moved to their current location, theMuseo del Prado in Madrid, where they remained out of public view because of their nudity until 1838, when they finally were displayed to the public.[26]
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