The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Adam and Eve in Paradise

Adam and Eve in Paradise

1509
(German, 1472–1553)
Image: 33.5 x 23 cm (13 3/16 x 9 1/16 in.); Sheet: 33.5 x 23 cm (13 3/16 x 9 1/16 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Hollstein 1
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The coats of arms hanging from the tree in this image are those of the artist's patron, Frederick, Elector of Saxony (1463–
1525).

Description

Lucas Cranach’s Eden shows the first couple just prior to tasting the forbidden fruit. Adam holds one fruit, and Eve plucks a second from the tree of knowledge. The composition is packed with stags, horses, sheep, and a lion, ram, and boar. Some of these are associated with human temperaments (personality types), but the many stags suggest more hunting ground than significant allegory. Cranach’s patron, Frederick, Elector of Saxony (1463–1525), whose coats of arms hang from the tree, was an avid hunter whose hunting grounds were perhaps a kind of paradise for him.
  • ?–1925
    Ralph King [1855–1926], Cleveland, OH, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    February 12, 1925–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Peters, Emily J. "Love Gardens/Forbidden Fruit: Nature and landscape before 1600.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 63, no. 2 (2023): 12-13. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 12.
  • Love Gardens / Forbidden Fruit. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-October 29, 2023).
    I and Thou. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 21-May 27, 1984).
    The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
    16th Century German Woodcuts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 24-February 26, 1939).
    Inaugural Exhibition of the New Print Gallery - Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 10-November 13, 1938).
    16th Century Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 4-29, 1935).
  • {{cite web|title=Adam and Eve in Paradise|url=false|author=Lucas Cranach|year=1509|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1925.115