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Adam and Eve

c. 1514
(German, 1484/85–1545)
Germany, 16th century
woodcut
Image: 22.2 x 15.3 cm (8 3/4 x 6 in.); Sheet: 22.2 x 15.3 cm (8 3/4 x 6 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1953.354
Catalogue raisonné: Karlsruhe 219.1 ; Hollstein II.74.1
Location: not on view
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Did You Know?

The initials "HBG" on the tablet at lower right are the initials of the artist, Hans Baldung Grien.

Description

A student of Albrecht Dürer, Hans Baldung absorbed his master’s ideas for his own version of Adam and Eve. Set within a dark northern European forest, the first couple has already plucked the fruit from the central tree of knowledge. The starring role in the narrative goes to the serpent, whose massive form wraps around the tree, its monstrous head with jaws agape pointed toward Adam. With simplified garden imagery, the image may focus on the question of who bears responsibility for original sin: Adam, Eve, or the devil.
Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve

c. 1514

Hans Baldung

(German, 1484/85–1545)
Germany, 16th century

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