Cleveland Museum of Art

Adam and Eve

Hans Baldung

Date

c. 1514

Medium

woodcut

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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

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