Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve
Artist Albrecht Dürer
Year 1507
Medium Oil on panel
Location Museo del Prado, Madrid
Dimensions Each panel: 82.3 in × 31.7 in
209 cm × 81/80 cm
Famous Paintings by Albrecht Dürer
Young Hare
Rhinoceros
Adam and Eve
Praying Hands
Knight, Death and the Devil
Apocalypse
Self-Portrait of Albrecht Dürer
Melencolia I
Adoration of the Trinity

Biblical themes were common for Renaissance artists, but in the hands of one the era’s most brilliant painters, the subject matter gained greater heights and significance. Adam and Eve by German painter Albrecht Dürer is a masterpiece for the ages. It survives today, 500 years later, as among the most magnificent creations of its kind.

Dürer’s Adam and Eve is actually two paintings depicting nude life size figures of each. The works were completed in 1507 and show the influence of Italian styles.

Dürer completed these works shortly after returning to Germany from Italy.
Both figures are tall, lithe, muscular and set mostly against a plain dark background. Dürer did not include a lot of detailed surroundings because he did not want the environment of Eden to detract from the focus on his central subjects. Eve, however, is positioned near a tree and grasping an apple above which the famous Satanic serpent is seen curled around a branch. Both figures demurely hold branches with leaf to cover their personal areas.

Adam and Eve by Dürer is currently on display at the Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain.