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Dürer achieved the classically proportioned figures of the Adam and Eve print through a significant amount of preliminary effort. This sheet shows the complexity of his preparatory trials. He joined two pieces of paper, a figure on each, and added a third vertical strip down the middle to create the appropriate distance between them. He then applied brown wash to unify the entire composition. Of the many drawings produced in connection with the print, this work is the only one to include both the male and female figures. That they each hold an apple, the temptation that led to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, reveals Dürer's willingness to experiment as he resolved the composition. In the final print, he decided to place the apple only in Eve's hand.

Details

  • Title: Adam and Eve
  • Creator: Albrecht Dürer
  • Creator Lifespan: 1471/1528
  • Creator Nationality: German
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Nuremberg
  • Creator Birth Place: Nuremberg
  • Date Created: 1504
  • Physical Dimensions: w201 x h242 mm
  • Credit Line: Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1910
  • Type: Drawing
  • External Link: http://www.themorgan.org/collections/collections.asp?id=16
  • Medium: Pen and brown ink, brown wash, corrections in white gouache, on two separate sheets of paper, cut by the artist and joined together by a third strip

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