Adam and Eve
Maker
(Artists)
1472-1553
1472-1553
Title
Adam and Eve
Date of Production
1526
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
Height: 117.1 cm (panel)
Width: 80.8 cm (panel)
Width: 80.8 cm (panel)
Accession Number
P.1947.LF.77
Mode of Acquisition
Arthur Hamilton Lee, bequest, 1947
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Location
On display
Keywords
Label Text
Adam and Eve are depicted at the fateful moment they disobey God. Hoping to know, like God, good and evil, Eve bites into a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, the only forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. After hesitating, Adam will take the fruit and the couple will be banished in punishment. Cranach’s rendering of the peaceful animals creates a sense of serenity, soon to be lost. Cranach and his workshop made over 50 versions of this subject. This painting is one of the largest and most beautiful. His seductive depiction of nude figures and nature heightens the theme of temptation, central to this biblical story. Cranach painted his coat of arms (a serpent with a ring) and the date of the work in white on the tree trunk.
Provenance
1906 : possibly Habich collection, Kassel; 1906 - 1929 : purchase, E.P. Warren, purchased in Kassel; 1929 - auction, Warren sale, Lewes House, Sussex, 22-24 October 1929, lot 546; 1929 - purchase, Lee of Fareham, Arthur Hamilton (1st Viscount); Lee Bequest 1947.
Exhibition History
Sin, National Gallery, London, 06/10/2020-03/01/2021
The Courtauld at the National Gallery, National Gallery, London, 27/03/2019-05/08/2019
National Gallery (permanent display during closure), National Gallery, London, 14/09/2018-03/09/2021 ...More
Lucas Cranach, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 08/03/2008-08/06/2008
Temptation in Eden - Lucas Cranach's Adam and Eve, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 21/06/2007-23/09/2007 ...Less
The Courtauld at the National Gallery, National Gallery, London, 27/03/2019-05/08/2019
National Gallery (permanent display during closure), National Gallery, London, 14/09/2018-03/09/2021 ...More
Lucas Cranach, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 08/03/2008-08/06/2008
Temptation in Eden - Lucas Cranach's Adam and Eve, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 21/06/2007-23/09/2007 ...Less
Inscriptions
Inscription: inscription : signed and dated : within image & recto (on the central tree trunk) : winged serpent monogram : 1526 //
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