Adam and Eve

1504

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

This black-and-white print shows two nude adults, a man and a woman, in full body view standing side by side. The man is positioned on the left, holding up a branch with a parrot perched on it. A small sign hangs from the branch, featuring the artist's name ("ALBERT DVRER") and a date ("1504"). The man turns to look at the woman on the right, with his other hand stretched towards her and one of his legs slightly bent. His facial features are defined, with a straight nose, a slightly furrowed brow, and curly hair framing his face. The woman on the right has long wavy hair cascading down her back. Her face is turned to the left, towards the man, as she reaches out with one hand. In her hand she holds a piece of round fruit, and a snake coils around a branch from the tree behind her, descending towards her and appearing to take a bite of the fruit. She holds another piece of fruit in her other hand, partially hidden. Both individuals have light skin and are bare except for leaves covering their groins. The background is dense with trees and foliage, including more fruit hanging from the central tree, and there are various animals on the ground behind the couple, such as a cat, an elk, a bull, a mouse, and a rabbit. In the top right corner, a jagged rock mountain top is visible with a goat standing on it.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of R. Horace Gallatin

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 24.9 x 19.3 cm (9 13/16 x 7 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.1.18

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 1, state i/iii


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

August Sträter [1810-1897], Aix-la-Chapelle (Lugt 787); Paul Davidsohn [1839 - 1924?], London, Vienna, and Berlin (Lugt 654); (Knoedler & Co., New York); purchased 1922 by R. Horace Gallatin [1871-1948], New York; gift to NGA (Lugt 1932d, with Gallatin initials), 1949.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1968

  • L'Incisione Europea dal XV al XX Secolo, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Turin, Italy, 1968. no. 93, repro.

1983

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., July 1983.

1990

  • Eva/Ave: Woman in Renaissance and Baroque Prints, NGA, 1990, no. 63, repro.

1991

  • Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1991-1992, no. 195, repro.

1997

  • Six Centuries/Six Artists, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997.

Bibliography

1932

  • Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog; ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. Vienna: Verlag Gilhofer und Ranschburg, 1932. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

1990

  • Russell 1990, cat.no.63.

1991

  • Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1991-1992: no. 195.

2001

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 1: no. 39.

Inscriptions

in plate, upper left, on hanging tablet: ALBERT [9 shaped form] / DVRER / NORICVS / FACIEBAT / AD [artist's monogram] 1504; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: C.6180 [underlined]; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: K 2581 [underlined] / C 3087; verso, bottom left, in graphite by a later hand: B-15, 224 [upside down]

Markings

R.H.G. NGA stamp

Watermarks

bull's head (Meder 62)

Wikidata ID

Q65067101

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